Stuart Davis (1892 1964) was an American original. Trained as a realist painter, he became a pioneering abstract artist after seeing works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Picasso, and other European modernists at the Armory Show in New York in 1913. Davis s exuberant, colorful compositions echo the dynamism of the American scene and the rhythms of jazz, the artist s lifelong passion. This documentary surveys his career and includes original footage shot on location in New York and Gloucester, Massachusetts; interviews with scholars and a musician; images of Davis s paintings; and archival footage and photographs of the artist.