William Robert Davis
B. 1952







Bill Davis
Plein Air Painting Trip to Cortona, Italy 2001

 Artist during a painting trip in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, MA
July 2002

Born: Somerville, Massachusetts, May 4, 1952

  Once you have seen a painting by William R. Davis, you will understand why Mr. Davis has a national reputation as one of the best marine artists presently working in the United States. Mr. Davis grew up in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He is a self-taught artist whose oil paintings typically capture the serene light of sunrise or sunset on the water. He employs many of the techniques traditionally used by American luminist painters to realize his personal vision, showing a marked preference for 19th century subjects.

    In 1987, Davis made history with the first one artist show ever mounted at the prestigious Mystic Maritime Gallery in Mystic, Connecticut.  All twenty of the works featured in that show were sold at the opening reception. In 1990 he received the Mystic Maritime Gallery Award of Excellence and his painting entitled "Calm Day off Latimer's Reef" appeared on the cover of Mystic's The Art of the Sea Calendar in 1993.   Three of his paintings were also used in  Shipwrecks Around Boston by noted Cape Cod author, William P. Quinn. Rockport Publishers has included Boston Harbor at Sunset in a new book entitled, A Gallery of Marine Art. He has also been included in the latest edition of E.H.H. Archibald's authoritative volume on  Marine Art from the Flemish masters to the present.

  Much of Davis' early works pays homage to 19th century artists such as James Bard, Martin Johnson Heade, Antonio Jacobsen and Fitz Hugh Lane.  He limits himself to about 30 colors in the palette of that period. He describes his style as "A conglomerate of a number of ideas I saw in other artists with my own refinements". Over the years, he has incorporated his fascinations for the different techniques of these artists. This may be best explained in the works of painter, William Merritt Chase, prominently displayed in his studio, "The most original painters are those who have stolen here a little and there a little from everyone. When they arrive a the levels of the masters, they will find they can do so much better work themselves that they can't help being original".

    In a tribute to Martin Johnson Heade which appeared in the July 1991 issue of American Artist magazine, Davis refers to sunset as "the hour when night usurps day". He observes that this is the "best time of day for painters to capture the 'inner state' of a landscape" and represents "an unequaled opportunity to sensitize the eye to the delicate mysteries of light and shadow".

  In the September 1992 issue of Soundings, former Mystic Maritime Gallery Director, J. Russell Jinishian, described Davis by saying "His work evokes the gentility and natural beauty of the 19th century, a time we look back on with some nostalgia as it was a time less complicated and more civilized".

    Although best known for his marine subjects, Davis strives to make his work accessible to those with a variety of tastes while expanding his own horizons as an artist. Following the tremendous popularity of Davis' "Lilacs and Basket", featured on the poster for The Cahoon Museum of American Art 1992 exhibition entitled, "The Flowers of New England", the Nantucket Basket series  began. Note cards and limited edition prints are now available.

    Davis has shifted in the last few years to painting more landscapes on location. In the process, he has converted to plein air painting, partly influenced by his friendship with artists Joseph McGurl and Donald Demers. During 1998 the three friends painted together in various locations all over New England. The result of their efforts was a show entitled The New American Luminists Revisit the Native Landscape held at Tree's Place in Orleans, Massachusetts.

In April 2001, Wm. Davis' work was illustrated on the cover of American Artist Magazine along with an in depth article about his work.
 

Cape cod life collector's edition named davis as one of the  Top 400 most influential, famous, and intriguing people on cape cod. Davis was also an invited panelist at the national conference on representional painting, sponsored by american artist magazine and held in the Summer of 2004.
 
 

MEMBERSHIPS:

The Copley Society of Boston
Fellow Member of the American Society of Marine Artists
Guild of Boston Artist

AWARDS:

1989 Award of Excellence – Mystic Maritime Gallery International Show
1991 Second Place – Copley Society
1999 Award of Excellence – Mystic Maritime Gallery International Show
 
 

Cape Museum of fine art permanent collection

The Donovan Gallery 2004 Making Art - Plein air 05/10 -14

The Donovan Gallery 2002 Making Art-Selling Art Seminar

Cape Museum of Fine Arts, Inc. Dennis, MA – Tuesdays with the Muse" series - "Ships, Slips & Boats Afloat" April 17, 2001

Museum of Natural History, Brewster, MA

Barnstable Historical Society, "Treasures at the Trayser"

Symposium on Cape Cod Maritime History

Community Foundation of Cape Cod, "Making Art and Making A Living"

Cape Cod Antique Dealers Association, Maritime Art of New England 1840-1880

Guest Curator, Cape Museum of Fine Art, Marine Exhibit: "Cape Cod: It’s Maritime Influences Past & Present"

PUBLICATIONS:  (incomplete list)

Cape cod life collector's edition  Top 400 influential, famous, and intriguing people October2003

Bound for Blue Water-Contemporary American Marine Art a new book by J. Russell Jinishian.

Cape Cod Life, Full Article June 2002

Art of the West  September 2001  "Capturing the Grandeur of Yosemite"

 American Artist Magazine April 2001 Issue.

 Cape Cod Life Magazine "The Solitudes of Nature" August 2000 issue – page 76-81.

Tide-Mark Publishing –Art of the Sea Calendar 2000,

American Artist Magazine, "Organizing Reference Material" – March issue,

 The Barnstable Patriot, 9- 24-1998,

 LeChasse-Maree, French Maritime Publication, Rockport Publishers, Marine Art –

 A Collection of Fine Art by Jerry McClish,

 Cape Cod Guide,

 A-Plus,

The Register,

 Shipwrecks Around Boston  Hard Cover Book by William P. Quinn.

Yachts on Canvas  Hard cover book by James Taylor,

Victoria Magazine,

Mystic Maritime Gallery, The Art of the Sea Calendar (1993 Cover)

Cape Cod Times – Arts & Antiques,

Cape Cod Life,

Soundings,

Currier’s Price Guide to American Artists1990,

Dictionary of Sea Painters,

Antique Collector’s Club Ltd.
 
 

HOME