Stuart Davis’s paintings synthesized many of the most prominent movements and styles of 20th-century modernism. Though his early works reveal the influence of Robert Henri and the Ashcan School of American painting, he would later abandon this Realist style in favor of experimentation with Post-Impressionism and Cubism, drawing particular influence from Cézanne and Matisse. Davis developed his own style based on Synthetic Cubism, depicting American commercial products and household implements with a stylized integration of figure and ground and a strong interest in surface quality and perspective. Later in his career, Davis would explore the urban confluence of technology, architecture, and music—he came to consider jazz the musical equivalent to abstract visual art, channeling its energy with his bold colors and rhythmic geometries.
Stuart Davis’s paintings synthesized many of the most prominent movements and styles of 20th-century modernism. Though his early works reveal the influence of Robert Henri and the Ashcan School of American painting, he would later abandon this Realist style in favor of experimentation with Post-Impressionism and Cubism, drawing particular influence from Cézanne and Matisse. Davis developed his own style based on Synthetic Cubism, depicting American commercial products and household implements with a stylized integration of figure and ground and a strong interest in surface quality and perspective. Later in his career, Davis would explore the urban confluence of technology, architecture, and music—he came to consider jazz the musical equivalent to abstract visual art, channeling its energy with his bold colors and rhythmic geometries.
