STUART DAVIS
American (1892 – 1964)
Stuart Davis was one of America’s first Modern artists and a forefather of Pop art. The artist’s abstract paintings, infused with jazz rhythm and bold, colorful abstractions of New York’s urban landscape or household objects, offer a taste of European Cubism with an American twist.
Born in Philadelphia, Davis entered Orange High School in 1909 but dropped out during his first year and began commuting to New York City. He began his formal art training under Robert Henri, the leader of the Ashcan School, at the Robert Henri School of Art in New York in 1912. In 1913, Davis was one of the youngest painters to exhibit in the Armory Show. He was exposed to the works of several artists including Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. Davis became a committed Modern artist and a major exponent of Cubism and Modernism in America following the show. With a long career that stretched from the early twentieth century well into the postwar era, Davis was one of the rare painters who successfully transformed a European style of painting into something truly American.
Collectors of Davis’ art include the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, among others.
