Growth of Spring

Art Historical Context

Arthur B. Davies created “Growth of Spring” between 1921 and 1922 as a graphic arts print now held in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Known for his lyrical and symbolic approach, Davies often merged the human figure with natural motifs, and this work reflects that interest through its focus on a nude study. The title evokes renewal and vitality, suggesting the figure embodies the awakening forces of the season. In the early 1920s, American artists were navigating the aftermath of World War I while exploring modernist ideas alongside more classical and romantic traditions. Davies, who helped organize the landmark 1913 Armory Show, used printmaking to extend the reach of his vision beyond large canvases. Prints allowed intimate details and delicate lines to be appreciated by wider audiences, making this medium especially suited to quiet, contemplative subjects like the present study. The work’s classification as both a print and a nude study highlights Davies’ skill in capturing graceful form with economy of line. Visitors today can appreciate how the artist distilled themes of growth and emergence into a single, poetic image that continues to resonate nearly a century later.

About the Artist

Arthur B. Davies · 1862–1928

Arthur Bowen Davies (1862–1928) occupies one of the most paradoxical positions in American art history: a painter whose own canvases were lyrical, dreamlike, and rooted in the classical tradition, yet whose organizational energy and curatorial vision helped force American audiences into direct confrontation with the European avant-garde. Born on 26 September 1862 in Utica, New York, to English and...