Memo

Stuart Davis, Memo, 1956, oil on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.19
Stuart Davis, Memo, 1956, oil on linen, 3628 14 in. (91.571.7 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.6.19

Artwork Details

Title
Memo
Artist
Date
1956
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
3628 14 in. (91.571.7 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on linen
Classifications
Subjects
  • Abstract — geometric
  • Waterscape — harbor
  • Architecture — boat — sailboat
  • Object — letter
  • Object — numeral
Object Number
1986.6.19

Artwork Description

Although working with abstracted forms, Stuart Davis always considered himself a realist and devised a kind of artistic shorthand for this “memo” about Gloucester harbor. Ship masts and wharf structures are schematically suggested by intersecting white lines below a white circle that floats like the moon against a night sky. The foreground is a tangle of overlapping red and green planes punctuated by letters and numbers. The word “ANY” at the bottom left refers to Davis’s belief that any subject can be transformed into art; the number 8 his reference to infinity.


Modern American Realism: The Sara Roby Foundation Collection, 2014

Works by this artist (4 items)

Charles White, The Children, 1950, ink and graphite on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Julie Seitzman and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2009.13
The Children
Date1950
ink and graphite on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.14, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.15, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Hasty B, 1970, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.155.1
Hasty B
Date1970
lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Lee Godie, To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat), 1960s, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.22
To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat)
Date1960s
oil and acrylic on canvas
Not on view
Barry Dalgleish, Interior with Trunk, 1984, acrylic and oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.84.2
Interior with Trunk
Date1984
acrylic and oil on canvas
Not on view
Stanley Edwards, Infant in Altar IV, 1965, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.24
Infant in Altar IV
Date1965
oil and acrylic on canvas
Not on view