Dances

1914 or 1915

Arthur Bowen Davies American, 1862-1928

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About the Artwork

Davies was briefly captivated by the fragmented forms and transparent planes of cubism. Many of his admirers preferred his depictions of ethereal maidens in imaginary landscapes; one pronounced these dancing harlequinade figures “garish as a tartan, and as stimulating.” Like many of his contemporaries, Davies was a great appreciator of the “gesture” of the dance, ranging from the interpretations of Isadora Duncan and the fiery spirit of the Duncan Girls, who formed a popular group at the time, to the subtle movements of Ruth St. Denis, who was famous for her sensuous performances. This painting was part of a mural project conceived by artists Walt Kuhn (1880–1949), Arthur Davies, and Maurice Prendergast in 1914. The three painters executed a set of four large canvases, which they exhibited in the spring of 1915 in New York City. John Quinn, one of America’s foremost collectors of European avant-garde art and a great admirer of the work of these Americans, purchased all four: Prendergast’s Promenade (DIA acc. no. 27.159) and its companion piece, Picnic (now in the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh); Kuhn’s Man and Sea Beach (now lost); and this work.

Title Dances

Artwork Date 1914 or 1915

Artist Arthur Bowen Davies

Life Dates 1862-1928

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. American

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Oil on canvas

Dimensions Unframed: 84 × 138 inches (213.4 cm × 3 m 50.5 cm) Framed: 87 1/16 × 142 3/8 × 1 3/8 inches (221.1 cm × 3 m 61.6 cm × 3.5 cm)

Classification Paintings

Department American Art before 1950

Credit Gift of Ralph Harman Booth

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 27.158

Markings

Signed Signed, at lower left: A. B. Davies

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

A. B. Davies. 1915, John Quinn (New York, New York, USA) [conflicting views say it was commissoned and purchased from the artist or purchased from Montross Gallery]. American Art Association (New York, New York, USA)

February 10, 1927, Ralph Booth

February 27, 1927-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

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Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

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Published References

Art News 13 (April 3, 1915): p. 3.

Britton, James. "Gallery News (exact title unknown)." American Art News (May 8, 1915).

"Montross Sells Moderns." Art News 13, 31 (May 8, 1915).

"The 'Very Latest' at Montross Gallery." Art News (March 27, 1915).

Quinn Collection Sale. Sales cat., American Art Association. New York, February 10, 1927, no. 376 (ill.).[listed as Dancers]

Richardson, E. P. Twentieth Century Painting. TWENTIETH CENTURY PAINTING. Detroit, 1945, pp. 38-39, 48.

Cummings, Frederick J. and Charles H. Elam, eds. The Detroit Institute of Arts Illustrated Handbook. Detroit, 1971, p. 149.

Berezin, Ellen. "Arthur B. Davies [exact title unknown]." Worcester Art museum Bulletin 6, 1 (November 1976): pp. 10-11 (ill.).

Zilczer, Judith. The Noble Buyer: John Quinn, Patron of the Avant-Garde. Exh. cat., Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Washington, D.C., 1978, p. 81, no. 10.

Rivard, Nancy. "American Paintings at the Detroit Institute of Arts." Antiques 114 (November 1978): p. 1054.

Nawrocki, Dennis A. "Prendergast and Davies: Two Approaches to a Mural Project." Bulletin of the DIA 56, 4 (1978): pp. 243-245 (fig. 2).

Henshaw, Julia P., ed. The Detroit Institute of Arts: A Visitor’s Guide. Detroit, 1995, p. 90 (ill.).

Schaefer, Barbara and Anita Hachmann, ed. Es War Einmal in Amerkika: 300 Jahre US-Amerikanische Kunst. Exh. cat., Wallraf das Museum. Cologne, 2018, p. 178 (ill. no. 17).

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