Nine Figures
1921
Medium
watercolor and graphite on laid paper mounted to paperboard
Dimensions
sheet: 44.45 × 57.63 cm (17 1/2 × 22 11/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne)
Accession Number
2015.19.343
Art Historical Context
Arthur B. Davies created *Nine Figures* in 1921 as a delicate study in watercolor and graphite on laid paper. Known for his lyrical approach to the human form, Davies often explored graceful, idealized figures that bridged late nineteenth-century symbolism and early American modernism. This drawing, measuring roughly 17½ by 22⅝ inches, captures his interest in fluid movement and quiet composition through the translucent layering of watercolor over precise graphite lines. The choice of watercolor and graphite allowed Davies to achieve both spontaneity and refinement, qualities that made the me...
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...