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Arthur B. Davies

American, 1862-1928

Born in Utica, NY in 1962, Arthur Davies sold his first sculpture — a small, detailed sailboat carved with a pocketknife — at the age of 12 for $25. After the 1913 Armory Show, Davies began to regularly cast small bronze sculptures and reliefs from wood carvings, and later from clay. These pieces were carved from life on occasion but more often from sketches. As Bennard B. Perlman notes in The Lives, Loves, and Art of Arthur B. Davies (1999), "experimentation in a three-dimensional medium was akin to his use of abstraction in painting, except that color was eliminated, allowing him to concentrate on the angular break up of shapes without the added complexity of considering hue, value, and intensity." Davies exhibited internationally, saw his work enter major public and private collections, and at the time of his death, the Metropolitan Museum of Art organized a large memorial exhibition. Today Davies’ artworks can be found in numerous public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.; Art Institute of Chicago; National Gallery of Art; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

(Biography provided by Driscoll Babcock Galleries)
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Artist: Arthur B. Davies
"Mountain Landscape"
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork: Framed watercolor of a mountain landscape. Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) Born in Utica, New...
Category

20th Century Tonalist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Watercolor

Resurrection (aka Flying Figures; Border of the Lake)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Resurrection (aka Flying Figures; Border of the Lake), drypoint and aquatint on zinc, 1916, signed with the estate stamp lower right. Reference: Price 2...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Drypoint, Aquatint

'Lida & the Swan', New York Armory Show, Ashcan School, ASL, NYMOMA, AIC, LACMA
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Signed lower right, 'Arthur B. Davies' for Arthur Bowen Davies (American, 1862-1928) and created circa 1915. An early twentieth-century sugar-lift aquatint showing Zeus in the guise of a swan, reclining and cradling Lida in his wings while King Tyndareus ponders the mutability of human circumstance. Born in Utica, New York, Arthur Davies attended the Chicago Academy of Design from 1879 to 1882. He furthered his studies at the Chicago Art Institute, before moving to New York City in 1885 where he studied at the Art Students League and Gotham Art Students League. In 1893, he made the first of many trips to Europe, visiting Holland, Paris, and London. He became an arch-exponent of Modernism and the central organizing figure of 1913's watershed Armory Show. Davies developed a style that combined visionary Symbolism with elements of Tonalism and Cubism. Who Was Who in American Art describes him as an “…important but enigmatic Modernist whose work was poetic, mysterious, and visionary”. Davies was the recipient of many gold medals and prizes and juried awards and his work is held in the permanent collections of museums nationwide, including New York’s Museum of Modern Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. Photo of Arthur B Davies circa 1907 in New York City by Gertrude Käsebier courtesy of Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. Reference: Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 1, p. 835; Artists in California 1786-1940, Third Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 1, p. 280; Thieme-Becker Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zu Gengenwart, Ulrich Thieme and Felix Becker, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag 1992, Vol. 7/8, p. 470; E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 4, p. 293; Davenport’s Art Reference and Price Guide 2009/10 Edition, LTB Gordonsart, Inc. 2008, p. 672; et al. Additional biographical information follows, written by Catherine Southwick and Robert Torchia from the National Gallery of Art Online Editions: Arthur B. Davies’s mystical, mysterious paintings hearken back to 19th-century romanticism, even while Davies aligned himself with American artists advancing the most radical ideals of their day. Davies was born on September 26, 1862, in Utica, New York, the son of English and Welsh parents who had immigrated to the United States in 1856. He first took art lessons as a teenager from a local landscape painter, Dwight Williams...
Category

Early 1900s Modern Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Paper, Aquatint

Round of Summer (aka Four Figures), First State Proof
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Round of Summer (aka Four Figures), soft ground etching, 1919, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochowski 91, first state (of 3), trial proo...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching

Sea Maidens (or, Sunshine; Girls on the Beach)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Sea Maidens (or, Sunshine; Girls on the Beach), soft ground etching and aquatint, 1919, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochoski 79, second...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

"Doorway to Illusion" original etching
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original softground etching and aquatint. Executed in 1919, this impression on laid paper was printed ca. 1929. Plate size: 7 3/4 x 6 1/2 inches (196 x 167 mm). Sheet size: 1...
Category

1910s Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching

Dawn (or, Kneeling Figure)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Dawn (or, Kneeling Figure), 1918, soft ground etching and aquatint, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochowski 59, second state (of 3). In v...
Category

1910s Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Study of an Indian Model
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Study of an Indian Model Unsigned Pastel and chalk on blue paper, mounted to support Provenance: Estate of the artist (per Graham and Sons, agent for the estate) James Graham & Sons,...
Category

1920s Ashcan School Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Chalk, Pastel

'Gorges of the Tarn, France', New York Armory, Ashcan School, ASL, AIC, NYMoMA
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Santa Cruz, CA
Titled lower right, 'Gorges of the Tarn' and painted circa 1905. American Master's Gallery label, verso, with artist's name, 'A. B. Davies' for Arthur Bowen Davies (American, 1862-1...
Category

Early 1900s Modern Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Paper, Watercolor

Against Green
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Against Green (also Three Figure Composition, Figures Against Green), soft ground etching and aquatint, 1918, signed in pencil lower right; also titled ...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Girl Running (or Woman Running)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Girl Running (or Woman Running), drypoint, 1917, signed in pencil (twice) lower left and dated lower right. Reference: Czes...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Drypoint

By the Sea (aka Idyll)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), By the Sea (aka Idyll), soft ground etching and aquatint, 1919, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochowski 72, fourth state (of 5; see disc...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Amber Garden
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Amber Garden (Hand Raised, Autumn Mist), soft ground etching and aquatint, 1919, signed in pencil lower right margin. Referen...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Afternoon
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Afternoon, transfer lithograph, 1920, signed in pencil lower left. Reference: Czestochowski 188, only state, from the edition of 25 (another 300 unsigne...
Category

1920s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Lithograph

Baptism (or, Group of Ten Men – One Seated)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Baptism (or, Group of Ten Men – One Seated), drypoint on zinc, 1917, signed in pencil , printed in black on very thin laid paper. In very good condition...
Category

1910s Cubist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Drypoint

Tartessians
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Tartessians, soft ground etching with aquatint, 1919-20, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Czestochowski 96, second state (of 2), total printing ...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Torment
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Torment, soft ground etching with aquatint and roulette, 1919-20, signed with the estate stamp lower right, and signed by the printer Frank A. Nankivell...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

Up-Rising
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies, Up-Rising, soft ground etching and aquatint on a cream laid paper, 1919, signed in pencil lower right margin. Reference: Czestochowski 78, second state (of 3). In g...
Category

1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Etching, Aquatint

"Cloud Study"
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork: Framed watercolor of Summer cloud study. Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) Born in Utica, New York, Ar...
Category

20th Century Tonalist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Watercolor

"Summer Clouds"
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Lambertville, NJ
Jim’s of Lambertville is proud to offer this artwork: Framed watercolor of mountain landscape with summer clouds. Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928) Born in...
Category

20th Century Tonalist Arthur B. Davies

Materials

Watercolor

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Previously Available Items
Arthur B. Davies, Lunette (also titled Three Women, Circular)
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
The enigmatic Arthur B. Davies was an early proponent of American Modernism. In particular work on paper from the early part of the twentieth century is increasing hard to locate. ...
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1910s American Modern Arthur B. Davies

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Drypoint

Gathering by the Sea
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Born in Utica, New York in 1862, Arthur Davies was an avant-garde modernist, well known for his ethereal portrayals of female nudes. Davies studied at the Chicago Academy of Design, ...
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Early 1900s Modern Arthur B. Davies

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Oil, Board

Doorway to Illusion
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in New York, NY
Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Doorway to Illusion, soft-ground etching with aquatint printed in colors, 1919, signed by the printer Frank A. Nankivell lower left and with the estate...
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1910s American Impressionist Arthur B. Davies

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Etching, Aquatint

RUDDY SUMMER
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Santa Monica, CA
ARTHUR B. (Bowen) DAVIES (1862- 1928) RUDDY SUMMER 1919 (Price 54, CZ.388) Etching and soft ground. Signed in pencil. Edition 20. Excellent condition. 9 ¾ x 7 7/8 inches. $975 Ashcan artists
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1910s Ashcan School Arthur B. Davies

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Doorway to Illusion
By Arthur B. Davies
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
An original soft ground etching and aquatint by American artist Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), titled "Doorway to Illusion", 1919, iii/iiii (1929 printing). A posthumous edition of (i...
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1920s Fauvist Arthur B. Davies

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Arthur B. Davies art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Arthur B. Davies available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Arthur B. Davies in etching, aquatint, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the Impressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Arthur B. Davies, so small editions measuring 7 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Albert Abramovitz, Childe Hassam, and Louis Oscar Griffith. Arthur B. Davies prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $350 and tops out at $8,700, while the average work can sell for $1,350.

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