Sculpture of a Bather

Arthur B. Davies, born Utica, NY 1862-died Florence, Italy 1928 · ca. 1916-1918

Although Arthur Davies was primarily a painter, he experimented with different media, including lithography, textiles, and sculpture. After the influential 1913 Armory Show, Davies began carving a series of figures out of cedar blocks. In 1918 these figures were cast in Paris and brought back to America to be sold. Sculpture of a Bather is typical of Davies’ subject matter, in which nude females are placed in a distant, Eden-like paradise, simultaneously projecting innocence and sexuality.