Arthur B. Davies – A Greater Morning [c.1900-05]

Arthur B. Davies (Utica, New York, 1862 – Florence, 1928) painted many images of nude women in dramatic landscapes during the early years of his career. Like many other turn-of-the-century artists, his work responded to the country’s increasing urbanisation by showing idealized images of people relating to nature. A Greater Morning shows two figures softly lit by the light of an early dawn. They evoke Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, unaware of their own nudity and waking to a new beginning in an untouched world.

[Oil on canvas, 59.0 x 71.7 cm]