Whirl of Dance
Arthur B. Davies
American, 1862–1928
1917
A drypoint print by Arthur B. Davies that arranges a procession of dancing figures into a single hushed, rhythmic composition, aiming to capture movement and mythic ritual through etched line.
You first notice a ghostly chorus of overlapping, simplified bodies whose blurred contours and soft hatch-like shading create a luminous, swirling effect across the paper.
Created amid early American modernism, this work marks Davies’s shift from literal narrative toward rhythmic abstraction and helped show how printmaking could convey atmosphere and motion while reworking classical subjects for a modern audience.
Medium
Drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 5 1/16 x 10 3/8" (12.9 x 26.3cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Gift of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Accession
817.1940
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
