Stuart Davis: American Painter

Library Journal

Davis's ``amazing continuity'' emerges as the underlying theme of this volume, published to coincide with the first retrospective exhibition of the artist's work (175 pieces) in over 25 years, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Seven essayists trace Davis's propensity for continually reworking themes and motifs throughout his 55-year-long career. Aspects of his oeuvre that have received little scholarly attention, such as the early landscapes of 1909-20, the Paris paintings of the late 1920s, and works of the 1940s through the 1960s, are examined in the context of such concurrent movements as Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and color field painting. The ciphering and encoding that are integral to his work continue to challenge viewers. A major work on a major American artist.-- Russell T. Clement, Brigham Young Univ. Lib., Provo, Ut .