Stuart Davis

b. 1892, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 

d. 1964, New York, New York

Stuart Davis was a preeminent figure of American modernism known for achieving an artistic style that synthesized abstraction with popular culture. Born to a family of artists in Philadelphia, Davis left high school in 1909 to study art under painter Robert Henri in New York City. After receiving recognition for his early works in the American realist style he was invited to be one of the youngest participants in the 1913 Amory Show. This event inspired Davis to pursue modernism and experiment with avant-garde styles such as Cubism and Fauvism through the end of the decade.

By the start of the 1920s, Davis had abandoned realism for what he later called “Color-Space Compositions,” which were paintings of landscapes, still lifes, and urban scenes created by large, flat expanses of color that defined spatial relationships. Around this time, Davis befriended artist John Graham through John Sloan, Graham’s instructor at The Art Students League.

In 1926, Davis had a solo show with The Whitney Studio Club. The recognition of his work by the club’s director Juliana Force enabled Davis to travel to Paris in 1928, where he painted street scenes. After moving to Greenwich Village in 1929, he joined the Public Works of Art Project, which was later integrated into the WPA. Under this organization, he completed several murals.  

Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Davis taught at the Art Students League. Davis was granted a solo exhibition at the American Pavilion of the Venice Biennale in 1952 and 1956. Davis died from a stroke in1964 while at the height of his career. Throughout his lifetime, Davis’ work stretched from the early twentieth century into the postwar era and was defined by his American approach to international modernism. Today, his work can be found in many public collections including The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; The Tate Modern, London; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C.; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.