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Arthur Bowen Davies American, 1863-1928 Rosy-Fingered Dawn Oil and pencil on canvas 16 x 20 1/8 inches Provenance: Private collection, Los Angeles Exhibited: New York, Spanierman Gallery, LLC, Arthur B. Davies: Painter, Poet, Romancer & Mystic, Mar. 29-Apr. 28, 2012 Literature: Lisa N. Peters, Arthur B. Davies: Painter, Poet, Romancer & Mystic, online catalogue (New York: Spanierman Gallery, 2012), cover, color illus., 5- 6 color illus. Davies often drew his subjects from ancient Greek sources, but interpreted them in his own way. He took this approach in Rosy-Fingered Dawn, a work that refers to Homer's Odyssey in which the metaphor of dawn appears frequently, marking the beginning of Odysseus's journey and other points at which new obstacles occur. Homer makes an analogy between the beginning of the day and Odysseus's youth and inexperience. Later in the epic story, Homer describes dawn as "gold-throned," suggesting that by the end of his journey, Odysseus has developed strength and a richness of knowledge that endow him with regal bearing. Davies alludes to some of these ideas in his painting. Represented by a rose-toned lithe nude figure, the dawn is interrupted by a small child who pleads for her attention, pulling her right arm and pointing for her to look upward. Stepping lightly forward, the figure of dawn, who towers over the landscape, is curtailed in her movement by a hanging vine. Her head is bowed rather than gazing in the direction that the child points. While the figure herself is rosy-colored, the background is gold-toned, suggesting the presence of the later more powerful dawn. Although Davies's meaning is enigmatic, the painting could be an expression of the conflicts in his life, as he balanced two households. C The Spanierman Gallery, LLC