Stuart Davis

Stuart Davis (1892–1964), Still Life with Flowers, 1930
Oil on canvas, 40 × 32 in. Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. 2005.18. © 2026 Estate of Stuart Davis / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Stuart Davis’s spin on the still life genre transforms a vase of flowers into an exuberant assembly of colors, shapes, and symbols. On the right, a façade with the words “hotel” and “cafe” refers to the artist’s journey to Paris in 1928–29. The pistil and stamen of a white “flower” become musical notes, and the yellow “bulb” on the left resembles a grand piano as seen from above. The musical motif reflects Davis’s passion for jazz, which he thought captured the energy and tempo of modern American life.