Artwork
The Great Mother
The Great Mother is an oil painting by the Art Nouveau artist Arthur B. Davies. It dates from 1913 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Classified as a painting, the piece was originally associated with Macbeth Galleries in New York before entering the collection of Lizzie P.
Arthur B. Davies created The Great Mother in 1913 using oil paint applied to a canvas support. The work measures 102.24 cm in height and 66.68 cm in width. Classified as a painting, the piece was originally associated with Macbeth Galleries in New York before entering the collection of Lizzie P. Bliss.
The artwork is currently held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., having been acquired in 2015 following its bequest to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1931.
History & Provenance
Arthur B. Davies completed the oil-on-canvas painting The Great Mother in 1913. The work was initially held by Macbeth Galleries in New York before entering the collection of Lizzie P. Bliss (1864–1931). Upon her death in April 1931, Bliss bequeathed the painting to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The National Gallery of Art subsequently acquired the piece in 2015, where it remains part of the collection.
The Great Mother is held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it is part of the museum's collection of paintings. It entered the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington through the bequest of Lizzie P. Bliss (1864–1931) in April 1931, having previously been handled by Macbeth Galleries in New York. The Corcoran transferred the work to the National Gallery of Art in 2015.
The painting's documented exhibition history is limited to its handling by Macbeth Galleries in New York prior to its 1931 bequest; no further exhibition venues are recorded in the available sources.
Context
Arthur B. Davies created The Great Mother in 1913, an oil on canvas painting now held in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., following its acquisition in 2015 from the Corcoran Gallery of Art, which had received it as a bequest from Lizzie P. Bliss in April 1931 after its initial exhibition through Macbeth Galleries in New York. Scholarship situates the work within Davies' Symbolist-influenced oeuvre, emphasizing his role in introducing modernist aesthetics to American art circa 1910-1920, though specific critical reception details are not provided in the sources.
Overview
Created circa 1913, The Great Mother is an oil on canvas by American painter Arthur B. Davies. Executed during the height of the Art Nouveau period, the work presents a large, nude female figure at its core, surrounded by a multitude of smaller, indistinct forms. The composition balances a central calmness with a surrounding visual turbulence.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, rendered in a serene pose, appears detached from the bustling crowd that encircles her. The surrounding silhouettes are rendered with blurred features, suggesting a dreamlike or allegorical gathering. The contrast between the woman's placid expression and the chaotic periphery invites contemplation of motherhood, fertility, or an archetypal feminine presence amid societal flux.
Legacy
Although not as widely reproduced as some of Davies’ other works, The Great Mother exemplifies his contribution to integrating European stylistic currents into American art. The painting continues to be cited in discussions of early modernist approaches to the female figure and the use of impasto to convey materiality.
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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.
