Gene Davis More Art

American, 1920-1985

Davis was born in Washington D.C. in 1920 and spent nearly all his life there. Before he began to paint in 1949, he worked as a sportswriter, covering the Washington Football Team and other local teams. Working as a journalist in the late 1940s, he covered the Roosevelt and Truman presidential administrations, and was often President Truman's partner for poker games. His first art studio was in his apartment on Scott Circle; later he worked out of a studio on Pennsylvania Avenue. Davis's first solo exhibition of drawings was at the Dupont Theater Gallery in 1952, and his first exhibition of paintings was at Catholic University in 1953. A decade later he participated in the "Washington Color Painters" exhibit at the Washington Gallery of Modern Art in Washington, DC, which traveled to other venues around the US, and launched the recognition of the Washington Color School as a regional movement in which Davis was a central figure. The Washington painters were among the most prominent of the mid-century color field painters. Though, he worked in a variety of media and styles, including ink, oil, acrylic, video, and collage, Davis is best known by far for his acrylic paintings (mostly on canvas) of colorful vertical stripes, which he began to paint in 1958. The paintings typically repeat particular colors to create a sense of rhythm and repetition with variations. One of the best-known of his paintings, "Black Grey Beat" (1964), owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum reinforces these musical comparisons in its title. The pairs of alternating black and grey stripes are repeated across the canvas, and recognizable even as other colors are substituted for black and grey, and returned to even as the repetition of dark and light pairs is here and there broken by sharply contrasting colors. In 1972 Davis created Franklin's Footpath, which was at the time the world's largest artwork, by painting colorful stripes on the street in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the world's largest painting, Niagara (43,680 square feet), in a parking lot in Lewiston, NY. His "micro-paintings", at the other extreme, were as small as 3/8 of an inch square. For a public work in a different medium altogether, he designed the color patterns of the "Solar Wall," a set of tubes filled with dyed water and backlit by fluorescent lights, at the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Davis began teaching in 1966 at the Corcoran School of Art, where he became a permanent member of the faculty. His works are in the collections of, among others, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, MN, The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza Art Collection in Albany, NY, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. He died on April 6, 1985 in Washington, DC.

Artist: Gene Davis

Gene DavisGene Davis Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Color Field Lithograph 1972, 1972

$8,000

Gene Davis Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Color Field Lithograph 1972

By Gene Davis

Located in Dallas, TX

Gene Davis Large Scale Lithograph on Archival paper Signed and numbered in pencil. Titled Yankee Doodle and executed in 1972. Original frame with plexiglass. Printed by Fine Creati...

Category

Mid-20th Century Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper

Gene DavisGene Davis Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Black Witch Series Serigraph 1974, 1974

$8,000

Gene Davis Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Black Witch Series Serigraph 1974

By Gene Davis

Located in Dallas, TX

Large scale serigraph by Gene Davis 'Black Witch Series' on archival paper signed and numbered in pencil, 24 of 150. Executed in 1974, 72" x 45" in the original frame with plexiglass...

Category

Mid-20th Century Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper

Jean-Michel BasquiatBasquiat Enrico Navarra Gallery 1999/2000 (vintage Basquiat announcements), 1999-2000

$575

H 8.5 in W 12 in

Basquiat Enrico Navarra Gallery 1999/2000 (vintage Basquiat announcements)

By Jean-Michel Basquiat

Located in NEW YORK, NY

Jean-Michel Basquiat Enrico Navarra Gallery Paris 1999-2000: A set of 2 rare vintage Basquiat announcement cards published on the occasion(s) of: Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gallery Enri...

Category

20th Century Pop Art Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Lithograph, Offset

Frank StellaFrank Stella - Recent Work Invitation Card (Hand Signed by Frank Stella). Framed, 2014

$2,800

H 10 in W 16 in D 2 in

Frank Stella - Recent Work Invitation Card (Hand Signed by Frank Stella). Framed

By Frank Stella

Located in New York, NY

Offset lithograph fold-out invitation card, 2014 Hand Signed and Dated by Frank Stella Published by Peter Freeman Gallery, 140 Grand Street, New York, NY The exhibition ran from Janu...

Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Postcard, Offset

Walasse TingChinese Moonlight (signed, dated and inscribed by Walasse Ting) with four lithos, 1967

$2,500

H 10.5 in W 7.5 in D 0.5 in

Chinese Moonlight (signed, dated and inscribed by Walasse Ting) with four lithos

By Walasse Ting

Located in New York, NY

Walasse Ting 丁雄泉 Chinese Moonlight (signed, dated and inscribed by Walasse Ting), 1967 Illustrated Softback monograph with four original double-page litho...

Category

1960s Pop Art Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Mark di SuveroHardback Monograph: Dreambook (hand signed by sculptor Mark di Suvero), 2008

$350

H 12 in W 10 in D 1.5 in

Hardback Monograph: Dreambook (hand signed by sculptor Mark di Suvero)

By Mark di Suvero

Located in New York, NY

Mark di Suvero Dreambook (hand signed by Mark di Suvero), 2008 Hardback monograph with no dust jacket as issued (hand signed by Mark di Suvero) Boldly signed by Mark di Suvero on the...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Permanent Marker

Francis BaconMonograph: Francis Bacon (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon), 1975

$5,500

H 8.5 in W 10.75 in D 0.5 in

Monograph: Francis Bacon (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon)

By Francis Bacon

Located in New York, NY

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon), 1975 Softcover catalogue with stiff wraps (hand signed and warmly inscribed by Francis Bacon) hand si...

Category

1970s Surrealist Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Felt Pen

Victor VasarelyVintage Hardback Monograph: Planetary Folklore (Hand signed by Victor Vasarely), 1973

$750

H 9.5 in W 9.35 in D 0.75 in

Vintage Hardback Monograph: Planetary Folklore (Hand signed by Victor Vasarely)

By Victor Vasarely

Located in New York, NY

Victor Vasarely Planetary Folklore (Hand signed by Victor Vasarely), 1973 Hardback monograph with dust jacket Hand signed by Victor Vasarely on the first front end page 9 1/2 × 9 7/...

Category

1970s Op Art Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board

Louise BourgeoisHomely Girl, A Life, Volumes I & II Signed by Louise Bourgeois AND Arthur Miller, 1992

$10,000

H 12 in W 9 in D 1.5 in

Homely Girl, A Life, Volumes I & II Signed by Louise Bourgeois AND Arthur Miller

By Louise Bourgeois

Located in New York, NY

Louise Bourgeois Homely Girl, A Life, Volumes I and II (Literary books with 10 original etchings) Hand signed by both artist Louise Bourgeois and Pulitzer winning playwright Arthur M...

Category

1990s Abstract Expressionist Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Etching, Lithograph, Offset

Emily MasonEmily Mason The Fifth Element, HB Book, Hand signed and inscribed by Emily Mason, 2009

$1,000

H 10.5 in W 9 in D 1 in

Emily Mason The Fifth Element, HB Book, Hand signed and inscribed by Emily Mason

By Emily Mason

Located in New York, NY

Emily Mason The Fifth Element (Hand signed and inscribed by Emily Mason), 2009 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (Hand signed, dated and inscribed by Emily Mason) Hand signed in ma...

Category

Early 2000s Abstract Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Sam FrancisLimited Signed Deluxe Monograph with Slipcase (signed & numbered by Sam Francis), 1982

$1,800

H 11 in W 12 in D 2 in

Limited Signed Deluxe Monograph with Slipcase (signed & numbered by Sam Francis)

By Sam Francis

Located in New York, NY

SAM FRANCIS: Limited Signed Deluxe Edition (Hand signed and numbered by Sam Francis), 1982 Deluxe limited edition hardback monograph with cloth boards, held in special slipcase of ts...

Category

1980s Abstract Expressionist Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Silk, Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset, Board

Christopher WoolChristopher Wool Guggenheim Monograph, Hand signed and dated by Christopher Wool, 2013

$1,000

H 11 in W 9 in D 1.25 in

Christopher Wool Guggenheim Monograph, Hand signed and dated by Christopher Wool

By Christopher Wool

Located in New York, NY

Christopher Wool Christopher Wool (Hand signed and dated by Christopher Wool), 2013 Hardback monograph with dust jacket (hand signed and dated by Christopher Wool) Boldly signed and ...

Category

2010s Minimalist Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Ink, Mixed Media, Lithograph, Offset

Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely)Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) Lithographie - 1978, 1974

$1,048

H 30.32 in W 30.32 in D 0.4 in

Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) Lithographie - 1978

By Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely)

Located in Saint-Didier, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Yvaral (Jean-Pierre Vasarely) Lithograph - 1978 Signed by the artist in pencil Numbered in pencil by the artist XXII/C Annotated in pencil 77 x 77 cms 890 euros

Category

1970s Abstract Geometric Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper

Maud Morgan"SSI" 1970s Abstract Silkscreen Artist Proof MOMA Whitney Artist, 1970s

$2,500

H 22.25 in W 19.25 in D 0.1 in

"SSI" 1970s Abstract Silkscreen Artist Proof MOMA Whitney Artist

Located in Arp, TX

Maud Morgan "SSI" c.1970s Silkscreen on silver paper edition A/P 11.75"x15" framed silver frame 19.25"x1"x22.25" Signed in pencil lower left

Category

1970s Abstract Gene Davis More Art

Materials

Paper, Screen

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