Artwork
Two Views of a Dancing Nude
Two Views of a Dancing Nude is a pastel drawing by Arthur Bowen Davies. It dates from 1922 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. Arthur B.
About this work
Overview
Arthur B. Davies produced the drawing *Two Views of a Dancing Nude* circa 1922. Executed in pastel on wove paper, the work presents a compact composition that juxtaposes two figures in motion. The medium’s soft application and the paper’s texture combine to give the image a fleeting, study‑like quality, characteristic of Davies’s experimental phase in the early 1920s.
Subject & Meaning
One figure looks to the left with arms extended outward, while the other faces right, her arms concealed behind her back.
The composition features two female dancers positioned side by side, each turned in opposite directions. One figure looks to the left with arms extended outward, while the other faces right, her arms concealed behind her back. By showing the same nude from two angles, Davies explores movement, duality, and the body’s relationship to space, suggesting a dynamic interplay between visibility and concealment.
Technique & Style
Davies employed pastel, a medium that permits smooth blending of pigments and rapid mark‑making. The drawing is marked by loose, gestural strokes and confident, sketchy lines that convey immediacy. Soft pinkish tones define one dancer’s skin, whereas a muted gray hue characterizes the other, highlighting the artist’s subtle use of color contrast to differentiate the two perspectives.
History & Provenance
Created during the period when Davies was a prominent advocate for modern art in the United States (approximately 1910–1928), the piece reflects his engagement with avant‑garde ideas. While specific ownership records are limited, the work is documented as part of his output from the early 1920s, a time when he was actively promoting contemporary artistic developments.
Context
*Two Views of a Dancing Nude* belongs to a broader movement among American artists who, in the post‑World War I era, experimented with abstraction and new media. Davies’s choice of pastel aligns with contemporary interests in immediacy and spontaneity, while the dual‑view composition echoes modernist investigations into multiple perspectives and the fragmentation of visual experience.
Artist & collection
Artist
Arthur Bowen Davies (September 26, 1862 – October 24, 1928) was an avant-garde American artist and influential advocate of modern art in the United States c. 1910–1928.
