Public art and the perils of canonization: the case of Swing Landscape by Stuart Davis

Abstract

Swing Landscape, a mural completed in 1938 by American artist Stuart Davis (1892 – 1964), is distinguished by a vibrant, high-keyed palette and an exuberant Cubist- inspired composition. [Fig. 1] Although perhaps not enjoying the same level of recognition as such icons of modern American art as Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings or Andy Warhol’s soup cans, Swing Landscape is referenced in over one hundred publications, has appeared in ten exhibitions, and has been requested for loan to eight others.