The Philadelphia Art Museum is the final stop for a global touring retrospective devoted to the Seattle-born artist Noah Davis (1983–2015), who died of cancer when he was only 32.
Noah Davis began with a humble aspiration: ‘to represent the people around me’. Born in Seattle in 1983, he made LA his chosen home, where he worked to capture the intricacies of contemporary Black life with tenderness and depth. Beloved as a painter, this major retrospective presents other aspects of his practice too – from collecting photography from flea markets to making collages, websites, sculpture and eventually his own museum.
On view are more than 60 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper that reflect his interest in African American life, as well as the commitment to underserved audiences he demonstrated by co-founding, with his wife, Karon, Los Angeles’s groundbreaking Underground Museum.
All of these works were created during his last eight years. The exhibition is on view through April 26, 2026. For more information, please visit visitpham.org.
