About the Object
In the 1920s, Davis began developing a more mature artistic style after his debut at the 1913 Armory Show. He spent summers with fellow artist John Sloan in Gloucester, Massachusetts, painting a series of harbor scenes. Sword Plant (From the Shore) showcases this developing mature style as the artist moved away from the realism of the Ashcan school. The influence of artists like Van Gogh and Matisse are noticeable in the brushwork, as Davis not only explored simplified shapes, but also texture and color theory.
Additional Information
In 1942, Davis revisited several 1921 paintings, rethinking the compositions and the relationships between color and structure. He reworked Sword Plant (From the Shore) into a new painting, Arboretum by Flashbulb, 1942, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Throughout his career, he would mine his earlier art as his ideas about and his theories on painting evolved illustrating what Davis called the “amazing continuity” of his art.
The Artist;
Estate of the Artist;
[Salander-O’Reilly Galleries, New York, NY];
[Owings-Dewey Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM];
New York, NY. Grace Borgenicht Gallery. Stuart Davis: Provincetown and Gloucester: Paintings and Drawings. April 1-26, 1986, cat. no. 19.
New York, NY. Salander-O’Reilly Galleries. Stuart Davis, Scapes: An exhibition of landscapes, cityscapes, and seascapes made between 1910 and 1923. March 2-31, 1990, p. 126, ill. np., cat. no. 49.
Koriyama, Japan. Koriyama City Museum of Art. Stuart Davis Retrospective (July 8-August 6, 1995); Shiga, Japan. Shiga Museum of Modern Art (August 12-October 1, 1995); Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum (October 10-November 26, 1995); pp. 78, 163, ill. p. 78, cat. no. 36.
Chicago, IL. Robert Henry Adams Fine Art. [Stuart Davis], closed October 11, 1996.
Santa Fe, NM. Gerald Peters Gallery. Visions of Landscape: Stuart Davis’ Early Years (1910-1923). November 20-December 28, 1998, cat. no. 20, pamphlet and checklist.
Gloucester, MA. Cape Ann Historical Museum. Stuart Davis in Gloucester (June 5-November 27, 1999); Wilmington, DE. Delaware Art Museum (January 21-March 19, 2000); New York, NY. National Academy of Design (May 3-July 30, 2000); ill. p. 54, pl. 25.
Wilkin, Karen. Stuart Davis. New York: Abbeville Press, 1987, pp. 79, 82, ill. p. 80, pl. 79.
Hills, Patricia. Stuart Davis. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996, p. 134.
Boyajian, Ani and Mark Rutkoski eds. Stuart Davis: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007, vol. 1, p. 63; vol. 3, p. 106, ill. p. 106, cat. no. 1455.
Agee, William C. and Lewis Kachur. Masterpieces of American Modernism: From the Vilcek Collection. London: Merrell, 2013, pp. 17, 176, 263, ill. p. 176.
