Lithograph on smooth, cream wove paper, 1931. 302x456 mm; 11 7/8x18 inches, full margins. Signed and numbered 12/25 in pencil, lower margin. A superb impression of this extremely scarce, important lithograph.
Stuart Davis (1892-1964) was one of the first American artists to begin experimenting with Cubism. Davis studied painting with John Sloan and Robert Henri beginning in 1910, but abandoned their Realist style after the Armory Show in 1913. His 1931 lithograph Sixth Avenue El reflects an interest in Sloan and Henri's social realism, depicting a New York street scene, but also applies Cubist style and leans heavily towards abstraction. Davis was also inspired by Jazz music and the concept of improvisation, giving his work a distinctly American quality. Cole/Myers 15.
