Little Giant Still Life (Primary Title)
The Champion (Alternate Title)
Stuart Davis, American, 1892 - 1964 (Artist)
Based on an advertisement for spark plugs, this energetic still life by Stuart Davis underscores the link between fine art and commercial art. Recoiling from then-prevalent ideas of artistic purity as espoused by critics such as Clement Greenberg, Davis commented, “I like popular Art, Topical Ideas, and not High Culture or Modernistic Formalism.” He filtered this imagery through his own aesthetic sensibilities to arrive at the flat shapes he set down in crisp, vivid colors. Today an internationally recognized icon of mid-20th-century American painting, Little Giant Still Life is one of the most frequently lent and reproduced works in the museum’s collection.
Signed lower center: "Stuart Davis"
On right side of frame back: 82 stamped Dogana di Napoli; bottom right: 84 (circled); sticker: The Seven Santini Brothers Inc. N.Y.C. N.Y. 104; lower left corner: 2-3; upper left corner 32 (circled); VMFA tag, 11 (circled), "M2A 249-63";
Exhibition stickers:
Walker Art Center L10-53:112
AFA cat no. 5, November 1968-November 1969
Musee d'Art Moderne de La Ville de Paris 1966, cat no. 30
National Collection of Fine Arts, S.L. 65.1.84, May 28 - November 28, 1965
First India Triennale, "American Painting of the Last 25 Years," cat no. 6, 68-01
XXVI. Biennale Internationale d'Arte DiVenezi 195?, no. 109
Minneapolis Institute of Art, no. L63.436
Lent to Brooklyn Museum,TL1977.94
Brooklyn Museum, January 21 - March 19, 1978
Fogg Art Museum, April 15 - May 28, 1978, cat no. 84
Inscribed at bottom left: "Stuart Davis"; "WASTERS(?) A-L 74-630 49ST" (covered by Santini Brothers sticker);
top stretcher at left: "LITTLE GIANT STILL LIFE"; top stretcher at right: "STUART DAVIS DEC.1949 / MARCH 1950"
John Barton Payne Fund
2019 - 2020: "Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art", The Jewish Museum, New York, NY, October 18, 2019 - February 9, 2020.
In Full Swing: The Art of Stuart Davis, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 10 – September 25, 2016; National Gallery of Art, November 20, 2016 – March 5, 2017; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young, April 8 – August 6, 2017; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, September 16, 2017 – January 8, 2018
Stuart Davis Retrospective, Guggenheim, Venice, June 3 – September 28, 1997; Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, October 22, 1997 – January 12, 1998; Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam, February – May 1998; Natural Museum of American Art, Washington D.C., May – September, 1998
Stuart Davis, American Painter, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, November 18, 1991 – February 16, 1992; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 24 – May 26, 1992
Stuart Davis: Art and Art Theory, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY, January 21 – March 19, 1978; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., April 15 – May 28, 1978
The Independent Spirit in American Painting, Artmobile, September 1975
Encounter II: Color, Artmobile, September 1972 – February 1974
American Painting: The 1950’s, Organized by the American Federation of the Arts, New York, NY; Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, November 3 – December 1, 1968; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS, December 22, 1968 – January 19, 1969; Charles and Emma Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, February 9 – March 9, 1969; Roberson Memorial Center for the Arts and Sciences, Binghampton, NY, May 18 – June 15, 1969; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, July 6 – August 3, 1969; The Huntington National Bank, Columbus, OH, September 8 – October 6, 1969; Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta Canada, October 26 – November 23, 1969
First Indian Triennale of World Art, Indian National Academy of Art, New Delhi, December 15, 1967 – May 15, 1968
Stuart Davis Paintings, (Festival of American Arts & Humanities), Museé d’Art Moderne, Paris, France, February 15 – March 15, 1966; Amerika Haus, Berlin, Germany, April 22 – May 21, 1966; American Embassy, London, England, June 7 – 24, 1966
Stuart Davis Memorial Exhibition, National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C., May 25 – July 5, 1965; The Art Institute of Chicago, July 30 – August 29, 1965; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, September 14 – October 17, 1965; Art Galleries, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, November 6 – December 5, 1965
Four Centuries of American Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN, November 27, 1963 – January 19, 1964
Ascendancy of American Painting, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, April 3 – June 2, 1963
Seattle’s World’s Fair, United States Science Exhibit, April – October, 1962
Treasures in America, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., January 13 – March 5, 1961
25 Years of American Painting, 1933-1958, United States Information Agency, circulated through Europe 1959
Nine American Painters: The Fourth Annual Invitational Exhibition of the University of Utah Department of Art, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, March 1 – 23, 1958
Stuart Davis, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, March 30 – May 19, 1957; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA, June 9 – 30, 1957; San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA, August 6 – September 8, 1957; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, September 25 – November 17, 1957
Director’s Choice: A Loan Exhibition, The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, February 6 – March 4, 1955
Stuart Davis: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, The Downtown Gallery, New York, NY, March 2 – 27, 1954
The Classic Tradition in Contemporary Art, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, April 24 – June 28, 1953
Special Loan Exhibition, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., January 5 – February 3, 1953
Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Stuart Davis and Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings from the 1952 Biennale in Venice, The Downtown Gallery, New York, December 9 – 27, 1952
XXVI Biennale di Venezia, United States Pavilion, Venice, Italy, June 14 – October 19, 1952
60th Annual American Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 25 – December 16, 1951
40 American Painters, 1940-1950, The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, June 4 – August 30, 1951
The 75th Anniversary Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture by 75 Artists Associated with the Art Students League of New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, March 15 – May 13, 1951
Judge the Jury, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., February 9 – March 18, 1951
Carrousel Exhibition, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC, November 16 - December 8, 1950
New Accessions USA, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO, July 2 – September 4, 1950
American Painting 1950, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., April 22 – June 4, 1950
In Full Swing: The Art of Stuart Davis, Whitney Museum of American Art, June 10 – September 25, 2016; National Gallery of Art, November 20, 2016 – March 5, 2017; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young, April 8 – August 6, 2017; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, September 16, 2017 – January 8, 2018
Stuart Davis Retrospective, Guggenheim, Venice, June 3 – September 28, 1997; Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, October 22, 1997 – January 12, 1998; Stedlijk Museum, Amsterdam, February – May 1998; Natural Museum of American Art, Washington D.C., May – September, 1998
Stuart Davis, American Painter, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, November 18, 1991 – February 16, 1992; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, March 24 – May 26, 1992
Stuart Davis: Art and Art Theory, The Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY, January 21 – March 19, 1978; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., April 15 – May 28, 1978
The Independent Spirit in American Painting, Artmobile, September 1975
Encounter II: Color, Artmobile, September 1972 – February 1974
American Painting: The 1950’s, Organized by the American Federation of the Arts, New York, NY; Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, November 3 – December 1, 1968; Wichita Art Museum, Wichita, KS, December 22, 1968 – January 19, 1969; Charles and Emma Frye Art Museum, Seattle, WA, February 9 – March 9, 1969; Roberson Memorial Center for the Arts and Sciences, Binghampton, NY, May 18 – June 15, 1969; University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, July 6 – August 3, 1969; The Huntington National Bank, Columbus, OH, September 8 – October 6, 1969; Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta Canada, October 26 – November 23, 1969
First Indian Triennale of World Art, Indian National Academy of Art, New Delhi, December 15, 1967 – May 15, 1968
Stuart Davis Paintings, (Festival of American Arts & Humanities), Museé d’Art Moderne, Paris, France, February 15 – March 15, 1966; Amerika Haus, Berlin, Germany, April 22 – May 21, 1966; American Embassy, London, England, June 7 – 24, 1966
Stuart Davis Memorial Exhibition, National Collection of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C., May 25 – July 5, 1965; The Art Institute of Chicago, July 30 – August 29, 1965; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, September 14 – October 17, 1965; Art Galleries, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, November 6 – December 5, 1965
Four Centuries of American Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN, November 27, 1963 – January 19, 1964
Ascendancy of American Painting, Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, April 3 – June 2, 1963
Seattle’s World’s Fair, United States Science Exhibit, April – October, 1962
Treasures in America, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., January 13 – March 5, 1961
25 Years of American Painting, 1933-1958, United States Information Agency, circulated through Europe 1959
Nine American Painters: The Fourth Annual Invitational Exhibition of the University of Utah Department of Art, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, March 1 – 23, 1958
Stuart Davis, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, March 30 – May 19, 1957; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA, June 9 – 30, 1957; San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, CA, August 6 – September 8, 1957; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, September 25 – November 17, 1957
Director’s Choice: A Loan Exhibition, The John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL, February 6 – March 4, 1955
Stuart Davis: Exhibition of Recent Paintings, The Downtown Gallery, New York, NY, March 2 – 27, 1954
The Classic Tradition in Contemporary Art, The Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN, April 24 – June 28, 1953
Special Loan Exhibition, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va., January 5 – February 3, 1953
Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings by Stuart Davis and Yasuo Kuniyoshi: Paintings from the 1952 Biennale in Venice, The Downtown Gallery, New York, December 9 – 27, 1952
XXVI Biennale di Venezia, United States Pavilion, Venice, Italy, June 14 – October 19, 1952
60th Annual American Exhibition: Painting and Sculpture, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, October 25 – December 16, 1951
40 American Painters, 1940-1950, The University Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, June 4 – August 30, 1951
The 75th Anniversary Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture by 75 Artists Associated with the Art Students League of New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, March 15 – May 13, 1951
Judge the Jury, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., February 9 – March 18, 1951
Carrousel Exhibition, Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC, November 16 - December 8, 1950
New Accessions USA, Colorado Springs Fine Art Center, Colorado Springs, CO, July 2 – September 4, 1950
American Painting 1950, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Va., April 22 – June 4, 1950
© artist or artist’s estate
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
