Davis, Stuart (1894–1964). American painter, born in Philadelphia. He grew up in an artistic environment, for his father was art director of the Philadelphia Press, a newspaper that had employed Glackens, Luks, Shinn, and Sloan—the four artists who were to form the nucleus of The Eight—and his mother, Helen Stuart Foulke, was a sculptor. After leaving High School, he moved to New York at the age of sixteen and studied with Robert Henri, 1910–13; his early works included street and bar-room scenes in the spirit of the Ashcan School. In 1913 Davis was one of the youngest exhibitors at the Armory Show, which made an overwhelming impact on him: ‘All my immediately subsequent efforts went toward incorporating Armory Show ideas into my work.’ He began experimenting with a variety of modern idioms, but for the next few years, 1913–16, he earned his living mainly as an illustrator for the left-wing journal The Masses. In 1915 he spent the first of many summers in the port of Gloucester, Massachusetts, where the bright light helped to introduce stronger colour into his work. He had his first one-man exhibition (of watercolours and drawings) at the Sheridan Square Gallery, New York, in 1917.

During the 1920s Davis achieved a sophisticated grasp of Cubism, but it was only after spending a year in Paris in 1928–9 (funded by selling two of his pictures to Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney) that he forged his distinctive style. Using motifs from the characteristic environment of American life, he rearranged them into flat, poster-like patterns with precise outlines and sharply contrasting colours (House and Street, Whitney Museum, New York, 1931). In this way he became the only major artist to treat the subject-matter of the American Scene painters—extremely popular at this time—in avant-garde terms; he was both distinctly American and distinctively modern—a rare combination that won him wide admiration. During the 1930s he worked for the Federal Art Project and became involved in the art politics of the Depression years: in 1934 he was elected president of the Artists' Union, an organization set up that year to combat alleged discrimination in the distribution of public funds to artists (he edited its journal, Art Front, in 1935–6); and in 1936 he was a founder member of the American Artists’ Congress, subsequently serving as its national secretary and chairman. In 1940, however, he resigned disillusioned from the Congress, and from 1940 to 1950 he taught at the New School for Social Research, New York. His work at this time became more purely abstract, although he often introduced lettering or suggestions of advertisements, etc. into his bold patterns (Owh! in San Pao, Whitney Museum, 1951). The zest and dynamism of such works reflect his interest in jazz; in the early 1940s he went to concerts with Mondrian and in 1960 he said: ‘For a number of years jazz had a tremendous influence on my thoughts about art and life. For me at that time jazz was the only thing that corresponded to an authentic art in America … I think all my paintings, at least in part, come from this influence, though of course I never tried to paint a jazz scene.’ In his later years he became a much honoured figure, and received numerous prizes and awards.

Davis is generally regarded as the most important American painter to come to maturity between the two world wars and the outstanding American artist to work in a Cubist idiom. He made witty and original use of it and created a distinctive American style, for however abstract his work became he always claimed that every image he used had its source in observed reality: ‘I paint what I see in America, in other words I paint the American scene.’ He was an articulate defender of abstract art, an important influence on many younger artists, including his friends Gorky and de Kooning, and a precursor of Pop art. Edward Lucie-Smith describes him as ‘the link between the American art world of the 1930s, in many respects still isolated and provincial, and the triumphant internationalism of the post-war epoch’ (Lives of the Great Twentieth Century Artists, 1986).

Stuart Davis

Stuart Davis (1894-1964) was an American cubist painter whose colorful compositions, with their internal logic and structure, often camouflaged the American flavor of his themes.

Stuart Davis was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 7, 1894. His father was the art editor of the Philadelphia Press. At the age of 16 Davis began studying art with Robert Henri, leader of "The Eight," a group of artists also known as the "Ashcan school." In the famous 1913 Armory Show, Davis exhibited five watercolors. His works of this period are close to the realistic style of "The Eight," but Davis soon began moving toward the more lively, Fauve manner, visible in Gloucester Street (1916).

Davis's new interest in cubism is partly explained by his statement that "a painting … is a two-dimensional plane surface and the process of making a painting is the act of defining two-dimensional space on that surface." He experimented with the geometric visual language of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian in his own painting The President (1917) and tried synthetic cubist devices in the more pictorially ordered Lucky Strike (1921).

Davis's trip to New Mexico in 1923 manifested itself in more simply conceived, flatter paintings. Still Life and Supper Table (both 1925) reflect a move toward minimal pictorial elements, with a bold outline accentuating objects. The resolution of these earlier abstract tendencies can be found in the Eggbeater Series (1927-1930), still life paintings in which Davis sought to "focus on the logical elements" of the composition instead of establishing a "self-sufficient system" that worked apart from the objects. The late paintings in this series show a less abstract approach and an increased clarity of form and color.

In 1928 Davis traveled to Paris. In general, the work that followed reveals not only a greater interest in urban landscape but a move toward more lively, linear composition, often using sets of words within the picture to carry the rhythm. Places des Vosges Number 2 (1928) juxtaposes line and color on a lightly textured surface, showing Davis's skill at rendering rhythmical equivalents of visual phenomena.

During the Great Depression, Davis became art editor of the Artists' Congress magazine, Art Front. Like many contemporary painters, he executed public murals: Men without Women (1932) at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City; Swing Landscape (1938), now at the University of Indiana; a mural for WNYC radio station in New York City; and the now-destroyed History of Communication (1939) for the New York World's Fair. But unlike many artists working under government auspices, Davis did not alter his esthetic outlook to accommodate public taste.

Davis's paintings during his last 2 decades (he died in 1964) show continued preoccupation with the lyrical order of visual experience. They draw on the tradition of Henri Matisse and Joan Miró, yet their content is indigenous to America. Hot Stillscape for Six Colors (1940), explosive with color and rhythm; Visa (1951); and The Paris Bit (1959) all integrate the visual feel of words with related color schemes and shapes.

Davis published a number of writings and taught in New York City at the Art Students League and the New School for Social Research.

Further Reading

The most lively interpretation of Davis is E. C. Goossen, Stuart Davis (1959), which includes a useful bibliography and numerous illustrations. Autobiographical material can be found in James Johnson Sweeney, Stuart Davis (1945), and the exhibition catalog to the Museum of Modern Art show of the same year edited by Sweeney. A recent assessment of Davis's work is by H. H. Arnason in his History of Modern Art (1968). □

Davis, Stuart (b Philadelphia, 7 Dec. 1894; d New York, 24 June 1964). American painter. He grew up in an artistic environment, for his father was art director of the Philadelphia Press, a newspaper that had employed Glackens, Luks, Shinn, and Sloan—the four artists who were to form the nucleus of The Eight—and his mother, Helen Stuart Foulke, was a sculptor. In 1910–13 he studied with Robert Henri in New York, and in 1913 he was one of the youngest exhibitors in the Armory Show, which made an overwhelming impact on him. After this he began experimenting with a variety of modern idioms and in the 1920s he achieved a sophisticated grasp of Cubism, but it was only after spending a year in Paris in 1928–9 that he forged a distinctive style. Using motifs from the characteristic environment of American life, he rearranged them into flat poster-like patterns with precise outlines and sharply contrasting colours (House and Street, 1931, Whitney Mus., New York). In this way he became the only major artist to treat the subject matter of the American Scene Painters—extraordinarily popular at the time—in avant-garde terms; he was both distinctly American and distinctively modern—a rare combination that won him wide admiration. Later his work became more purely abstract, although he often introduced lettering or suggestions of advertisements etc. into his bold patterns (Owh! in San Pao, 1951, Whitney Mus.). The zest and dynamism of such works reflect his interest in jazz.

Davis is generally regarded as the most important American painter to come to maturity between the two world wars and the outstanding American artist to work in a Cubist idiom. He made witty and original use of it and created a distinctive American style, for however abstract his work became he always claimed that every image he used had its source in observed reality: ‘I paint what I see in America, in other words I paint the American Scene.’ He was an articulate defender of modern art, a major influence on many younger artists, including his friends Gorky and de Kooning, and a precursor of Pop art, forming an important link between the pioneering avant-garde artists of the Armory Show generation and the triumphant New York art scene of the post-war years.

Davis, Stuart (1894–1964). American painter. He grew up in an artistic environment, for his father was art director of the Philadelphia Press, a newspaper that had employed Glackens, Luks, Shinn, and Sloan—the four artists who were to form the nucleus of The Eight—and his mother, Helen Stuart Foulke, was a sculptor. In 1910–13 he studied with Robert Henri in New York, and in 1913 he was one of the youngest exhibitors in the Armory Show, which made an overwhelming impact on him. After this he began experimenting with a variety of modern idioms and in the 1920s he achieved a sophisticated grasp of Cubism, but it was only after spending a year in Paris in 1928–9 that he forged a distinctive style. Using motifs from the characteristic environment of American life, he rearranged them into flat poster-like patterns with precise outlines and sharply contrasting colours (House and Street, 1931, Whitney Mus., New York). In this way he became the only major artist to treat the subject matter of the American Scene painters—extraordinarily popular at the time—in avant-garde terms; he was both distinctly American and distinctively modern—a rare combination that won him wide admiration. Later his work became more purely abstract, although he often introduced lettering or suggestions of advertisements etc. into his bold patterns (Owh! in San Pao, 1951, Whitney Mus.). The zest and dynamism of such works reflect his interest in jazz.

Davis is generally regarded as the most important American painter to come to maturity between the two world wars and the outstanding American artist to work in a Cubist idiom. He made witty and original use of it and created a distinctive American style, for however abstract his work became he always claimed that every image he used had its source in observed reality: ‘I paint what I see in America, in other words I paint the American Scene.’ He was an articulate defender of modern art, a major influence on many younger artists, including his friends Gorky and de Kooning, and a precursor of Pop art, forming an important link between the pioneering avant-garde artists of the Armory Show generation and the triumphant New York art scene of the post-war years.

Stuart Davis 1894–1964, American painter, b. Philadelphia, studied with Robert Henri in New York City. At the age of 19 he did drawings and covers for The Masses and exhibited in the Armory Show. One of the early jazz enthusiasts, Davis is often said to have incorporated its exciting tempos into the vibrant patterns of his paintings. In the 1920s the influence of cubism became apparent in his work. He painted the famous Eggbeater series in an attempt to avoid the depiction of natural objects and instead to create an art of abstract forms and planes. During the 1930s he was active in the Artists' Congress, editing Art Front. Davis was an articulate spokesman for abstract art. Among his canvases in numerous museums are Visa (Mus. of Modern Art, New York City); Colonial Cubism (Walker Art Center, Minneapolis); and Midi (Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Conn.).

Bibliography: See biography by E. C. Goosen (1959); study ed. by D. Kelder (1971).

Davis, Stuart (1894–1964) US painter, the leading American exponent of cubism. Although influenced by the Ashcan school, the greatest impact on his mature style was the Armory Show (1913). After a visit to Paris (1928–29), he turned towards cubism's synthetic phase, introducing natural forms arranged in flat areas of pattern in bright, contrasting colours. His later abstract style used lettering that resembled advertising slogans, such as Owh! in San Pao (1951).