Francis Davison (1919-1984)

Born in London on 9 June 1919, son of George Davison, who made his fortune as a managing director of Kodak. He studied at Cambridge where he read English and anthropology but began as a poet and turned to painting after Patrick Heron, a friend from St George's school, Harpenden, invited him to St Ives, Cornwall. Artist Margaret Mellis (1914-2009), divorced in 1946 from fellow artist Adrian Stokes (1902-1972)who then left the marital home at Carbis Bay, Cornwall, invited Patrick and Delia Heron to stay with her. They in turn in 1946 invited recently divorced friend, Francis Davison to join them in Cornwall. Francis and Margaret, struck up a friendship, married in 1948 and were ...