Sketchbook I

Art Historical Context

Arthur B. Davies created this intimate sketchbook in 1883, early in his artistic career. Measuring just 12 × 15.2 × 1 cm, the compact volume features a sturdy maroon buckram cover protecting pages of tinted paper. Inside, Davies explored designs through graphite and watercolor, using the portable format to capture ideas wherever inspiration struck. The choice of mixed media on colored paper highlights the sketchbook’s role as a private laboratory. Graphite allowed for quick, precise line work, while delicate watercolor washes added subtle tonal effects and hints of color. Such volumes reveal how artists of the period honed their observational skills and experimented with composition before committing to larger canvases. Preserved today in the Art Institute of Chicago’s Prints and Drawings department, Sketchbook I offers visitors a rare glimpse into an artist’s daily practice. Its modest scale and personal nature underscore the importance of drawing as the foundation of creative development.

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...