Hard-edge Abstraction: Gene Davis

2014.22.1

Gene Davis (American, 1920−1985)

Tuxedo: Homage to Newman, 1984

Acrylic on canvas

55” x 74”

Gift of Nancy and John Poynor ’62, 2014.22.1

2018.23.1

Gene Davis (American, 1920−1985)

Homage to Newman, 1979

Acrylic on canvas

45 3/4” x 74”

Gift of Nancy and John Poynor ’62, 2018.23.1

Gene Davis was one of the leading artists of the Washington Color School that emerged in Washington DC in the early 1960s. He is best known for his “stripe paintings,” which employ varied colored lines repeated across the surface of the canvas or paper. Although he began by experimenting with lines of equal size, he quickly progressed to emphasizing “spatial intervals” as in his series Homage to Newman, which uses both thick blocks of color and thin stripes.

Davis began this series in 1979 in honor of New York artist Barnett Newman (1905−1970), whose paintings of vibrant hues split by thin lines called “zips” (because of their resemblance to zippers) inspired Davis. In Tuxedo, Davis mimics Newman’s freestanding stripes with a bisection of exposed canvas. This particular work was completed in 1984, a year before Davis’ death.

Tuxedo: Homage to Newman was a gift to Washington and Lee University from Dr. John Poynor ’62 and his wife Nancy in response to student “acquisition pitch” projects conducted in the 2014 Spring Term Business of Contemporary Art course. Four years later, the Poynors donated one of the original canvases from the 1979 series.

  • Mary Page Welch, '18
Hard-edge Abstraction: Gene Davis