Stuart Davis exhibition opens Saturday at Crystal Bridges

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art will display the exhibition, Stuart Davis: In Full Swing, starting Sept. 16 through Jan. 1.

The exhibition features 86 original works by Davis, a painter and “a key figure in the development of American modern art” during the early- to mid-20^th century, according to Crystal Bridges.

“Davis was a pivotal figure in American modern art, whose work is remarkable for its breadth and inventiveness,” Margi Conrads, Crystal Bridges director of curatorial affairs, said in a press release. “Living from the horse and buggy era to the space race, Davis’ art was informed by experiencing most of the significant events of the twentieth century. Davis’ expansive vision and unique approach, informed by his enthusiasm for jazz, helped define American art for his generation and beyond.”

Crystal Bridges is the final venue for this exhibition. Before that, it was on display at de Young Museum from April 1 to Aug. 6, at National Gallery of Art from Nov. 20, 2016 to March 5; and at the Whitney Museum of American Art from June 10 to Sept. 25, 2016.

Stuart Davis: In Full Swing was co-organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

An Opening Exhibition Lecture with Harry Cooper, senior curator of modern art at the National Gallery of Art, is scheduled for Friday (Sept. 15) 7-8 p.m. “Cooper will explore Davis’s five-decade artistic journey, from his Cubist still lifes of the 1920s to his development of an entirely original abstract language that merged the aesthetics of advertising and jazz with American-inspired subject matter and a dazzling visual reinvention of his earlier work,” noted the press release.

Special tours through Stuart Davis: In Full Swing are planned for Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 1 p.m. for the run of the exhibition. School tours will take place in the exhibition along with adult tours, according to Crystal Bridges.

“Crystal Bridges’ visitors may be familiar with Stuart Davis, with five works from our permanent collection included in the exhibition,” Rod Bigelow, Crystal Bridges executive director and chief diversity & inclusion officer, said in the press release. “We’re eager to introduce Davis to new visitors as well as share a deeper presentation of his long and complex career, unique practices, influences and contributions to American culture.”

Davis’ first art teacher was Robert Henri, who is represented in Crystal Bridges’ permanent collection.

The exhibition begins with a 1912 self-portrait of the Philadelphia-born artist, and it culminates in his final, unfinished canvas, titled Fin, which he worked on from 1962 to 1964, according to the museum.

Davis began as “an illustrator of urban life around New York.  He was heavily influenced by European modernists like Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Fernand Léger and became one of the first American artists to bring the lessons of French avant-garde art into American painting,” according to the press release. Inspired by poet Walt Whitman, Davis “created lively, innovative paintings marked by their bold use of colors, shapes, lines, symbols and words. For Davis, his paintings were an expression of what he called the ‘American Scene,’ and he believed abstract art could convey the energy, tension and experience of American life in a rapidly changing world.”

Jazz also served as a major inspiration for Davis’ work. He called it the “great American art expression,” with “the same quality of art that [he] found in the best modern painting.”

Admission is $8 for adults or free to members and youth ages 18 and under. Combined tickets for In Full Swing and Chihuly: In the Forest are $12.

Major support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and the Terra Foundation for American Art. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. This exhibition is sponsored at Crystal Bridges by James Dyke and Helen Porter.