Arthur Bowen Davies (1863-1928)
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Arthur Bowen Davies was an avant-garde, American artist born in Utica, New York. Davies left Utica in 1879 to study at the Chicago Academy of Design and at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Davies only stayed in Chicago for a few years before moving to New York City. Davies continued his art studies in New York, taking courses at the Art Students League. Davies supported himself by working as an illustrator, billboard painter and a draftsman for engineers.
Davies quickly became involved in the New York art scene and was an important artist of the historical, Ashcan school of painting. Other artists in Davies’ circle included William Glackens, Robert Henri, George Luks, Everett Shinn, John French Sloan, Ernest Lawson and Maurice Prendergast. The group of avant-garde painters was also known as The Eight. The Ashcan artists countered the conservatism of the National Academy of Design.
Davies commonly painted figures in an unearthly or fantasy world. Davies referenced former art movements including Art Nouveau, Cubism and Tonalism. Davies showed frequently and organized an extensive show at the Armory in New York in 1913. The show made a major impact on American Art, and served as one of the first Modern art exhibits in the United States. Davies travelled extensively in Europe in the United States, making visits to Holland, France, England, and the West of the United States.
Davies paintings now belong to major museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the LA County Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, among many others. Do you think you own a painting by Arthur Bowen Davies? Contact us. We are the experts on Arthur Bowen Davies.