Curatorial notes
Arthur Bowen Davies painted *Children, Dogs and Pony* at a time when America was reckoning with modernity. Davies, who helped introduce European modernism to the United States, often created works evoking a sense of nostalgia and escape. Here, Davies invites us into a scene of leisure. The composition features children amidst nature, accompanied by dogs and a pony. The figures are placed within a dark forest, creating a dreamlike quality, which evokes emotional and psychological states, rather than representing the external world. Davies’ ethereal style seems to float, but it's important to note that his nostalgia often obscures the realities of gender, race and class in American society. These figures are free to roam because of their privileged status. Davies once said, "Art is a means of expression that is purified of all that is ugly in the world. It is a refuge for the soul." While we might find beauty in his idyllic scenes, let's consider whose realities are being idealized and whose are being erased.
