Dress

Roselle Davis|Stuart Davis

ca. 1938 · silk · Costume Institute

The American artist Stuart Davis (1894-1964) was best known for pioneering a distinctly American form of Cubism. His work featured flat, abstracted forms, with hard edges defined by strongly contrasting colors. Davis also designed textiles in which he employed similar designs. The textile of this dress, designed and made by his wife, Roselle, in 1938, illustrates how he translated the forms he used in his paintings to a design appropriate for constructing into a garment. While this dress was made by Mrs. Davis, the department store Franklin Simon advertised dresses made in this fabric in the spring of 1938.

Artist

Roselle Davis|Stuart Davis

Date

ca. 1938

Medium

silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Stuart Davis, 1976