Davis, Stuart, 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

(born Dec. 7, 1894, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—died June 24, 1964, New York, N.Y.) U.S. abstract painter. His father was a graphic artist who encouraged his interest in art. He studied in New York City with Robert Henri (1909–12), made drawings for the periodical The Masses, associated with the Ash Can school, and exhibited in the Armory Show. A visit to Paris in 1928–29 inspired his own version of Cubism; he began rearranging natural forms from everyday life into flat posterlike patterns with sharp outlines and contrasting colours—the dissonant colours and repetitive rhythms reflecting his interest in jazz—in a style that eventually led to totally abstract patterns. He is considered the outstanding U.S. artist who worked in the Cubist style.

Davis, Stuart (1893–1964) painter; born in Philadelphia. Son of artists, he grew up knowing some original members of the Ashcan School; when his father, an art editor, moved to New Jersey, he left school at age 16 to study painting with Robert Henri in New York. He first painted everyday life under the influence of the Ashcan School but the Armory Show of 1913 (in which he had 5 watercolors) turned him to more modern styles, first like the French Fauvists, then more Cubist. Eventually he developed his own distinctive style based on his theory of "color-space logic," using bold colors and flat, often geometric forms—as in Lucky Strike (1921)—to capture every possible aspect of the American scene. He loved the early styles of jazz and remained influenced by African-American music. Although he spent two years in Paris (1928–30) and often visited the Massachusetts coast, he spent most of his career in New York. During the late 1930s he did a remarkable series of mural paintings, such as Swing Landscape (1938). Eventually recognized as having anticipated certain elements of Pop Art, his work continued to increase its reputation after his death.