Stuart Davis 1892 1964

1
Stuart Davis (1892 1964)

• Stuart Davis was born in Philadelphia,
  Pennsylvania
• His father was the art editor of a Philadelphia
  newspaper.
• He was surrounded by artists during his
  childhood.
• He dropped out of high school to go to art school
  in New York.

2

• He painted this self-portrait in 1919. He was
  27 years old.
• How do you feel when you look at this
  self-portrait?
• How do you think he is feeling?

3
Compare the self-portrait by Picasso on the left
with the one by Stuart Davis on the right. Davis
painted his self portrait 23 years after Picasso
painted his. What differences do you notice?
4
The 1920s

• Stuart Davis traveled to Europe and became
  interested in Cubism (like we studied in
  Picassos art).
• He experimented with collage, but soon began
  painting copies of wallpaper in his art, instead
  of adding actual wallpaper like Picasso had done.
  

5

• Davis was influenced by Picassos style.
• How are they similar? How are they different?

Picasso
Stuart Davis
6
The1930s

• During this period Davis began experimenting with
  other modern abstract styles.
• The name of this painting is New York Waterfront.
• What clues do you see that tell you this is New
  York? A waterfront view?

7
The 1940s

• Stuart Davis became interested in showing
  American life in his art. He enjoyed jazz music
  and began painting jazz.

8

• . . . I have always liked hot music. There's
  something wrong with any American who doesn't.
  But I never realized that it was influencing my
  work until one day I put on a favorite record and
  listened to it while I was looking at a painting
  I had just finished. Then I got a funny feeling.
  If I looked, or if I listened, there was no
  shifting of attention. It seemed to amount to the
  same thing--like twins, a kinship. After that,
  for a long time, I played records while I
  painted.

What do you think Stuart Davis meant when he said
this?
9

• Do you see/feel the music?
• What about these paintings is jazz-like?

10
The1950s

• He began using words and letter-like shapes in
  his art.
• His art takes on a poster-like appearance --
  almost looking like advertising.
• How do you feel when you look at these paintings?
  Do you like them? Why or why not?

11
The 1960s

• Toward the end of his career, words and symbols
  dominated his art.
• Can you read all of what he wrote in this
  painting?
• Do you think it mattered to him if you could read
  it or not? Why or why not?
• How do you feel when you look at this painting?

12
What changes do you see in his style over
time? Do you like his work? Why or why
not? Which style is your favorite? Why?