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Still Life with Flowers

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Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Still Life with Flowers
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.

Still Life with Flowers

Artist (1892 - 1964)
Date1930
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions40 x 32 in. (101.6 x 81.3 cm)
Framed: 41 7/8 in. × 34 in. × 3 3/8 in.
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2005.18
Signedl.r., in black paint: Stuart Davis
Accession number 2005.18
On View
On view
Provenance(Downtown Gallery, New York, NY); U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., 1946; (War Assets Administration Sale, New York, NY), June 19, 1948, lot 17; purchased by New Trier Township High School District 203, Winnetka, IL, 1948; to (Christie's Inc., New York, NY), 2005; purchased by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR, 2005
Label TextStuart Davis’s spin on the still life genre transforms a vase of flowers into an exuberant assembly of colors, shapes, and symbols. On the right, a façade with the words “hotel” and “cafe” refers to the artist’s journey to Paris in 1928–29. The pistil and stamen of a white “flower” become musical notes, and the yellow “bulb” on the left resembles a grand piano as seen from above. The musical motif reflects Davis’s passion for jazz, which he thought captured the energy and tempo of modern American life.


El toque que le daba Stuart Davis al género de la naturaleza muerta transforma un florero en un exuberante ensamblaje de colores, formas y símbolos. A la derecha, la fachada con las palabras “hotel” y “café” hace referencia al viaje del artista a París en 1928-29. El pistilo y el estambre de una “flor” blanca se convierten en notas musicales, y el “bulbo” amarillo, a la izquierda, se parece a un piano de cola visto desde arriba. El motivo musical refleja la pasión de Davis por el jazz, el cual, según creía el artista, capturaba la energía y el ritmo de la vida moderna estadounidense.
Photography by Dwight Primiano
Stuart Davis
1917
Photography by Steven Watson
Stuart Davis
ca. 1932
Photography by Edward C. Robison III
Stuart Davis
1928
Photography by Dwight Primiano
Stuart Davis
1963
Photography by Edward C. Robison III
Stuart Davis
1912
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Stuart Davis
1916
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Stuart Davis
1912
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Gene Davis
1964
Photography by Dwight Primiano
William M. Davis
1862
Photography by Edward C. Robison III.
Martin Johnson Heade
ca. 1870