Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, May 4, 1952, 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.
William Davis belongs to the following organizations:
Fellow Artist Member of the American Society of Marine Artists; Artist Member The Guild of Boston Artists;Board of Trustee Cape Cod Maritime Museum;Artist Member, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
