Description
In this painting, Stuart Davis presented the saw as a modern icon for the 20th century. It is one of a series of paintings of solitary objects he produced in the 1920s. Here the tool floats in a Cubist composition of flat, abstract planes. The elevation of mundane objects to artistic subjects appealed to modernists like Davis because it signaled a new means of working that was free of art historical associations.
Provenance
The artist; estate of the artist [Salander-O'Reilly Galleries, New York]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1988.
Accession Number
71529
Medium
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
94 × 55.9 cm (37 × 22 in.)
Classification
oil on canvas
Credit Line
Through prior gift of William Wrigley
Background & Context
Background Story
Stuart Davis's Saw (1935) is by the American modernist painter known for his jazz-inspired, brightly colored abstractions. Davis (1892-1964) was a leading figure in American modernism whose work synthesized Cubist structure with American popular culture.
Cultural Impact
Davis was a pioneering American modernist who incorporated jazz and popular culture into his work.
Why It Matters
This painting of a saw transforms an ordinary object through modernist form.
