Stan Davis, born in 1942, with extensive experience in advertising agencies, is an illustrator in oil of 19th-century Blackfoot, Sioux and Cheyenne Indians. In an attempt to ensure historical and cultural accuracy, Davis makes every costume used in his paintings.

Raised near Tallahassee, Florida, he searched the beaches, as a child, for pre-Colombian arrowheads and pottery shards. He graduated from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. Davis joined the Air Force after working for a year for an advertising agency in Coco Beach, Florida. After his discharge in 1968, he moved to Los Angeles, where he became art director for a large advertising agency. He started his own agency in the mid-1970's, though he continued to draw and paint in his spare time.

In 1979, he decided to paint Native American-themed art after a trip to art galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona. Back in Los Angeles, he studied Western movies as a starting point for subject matter, but soon realized that Hollywood was historically inaccurate. Davis then visited a shop specializing in Native American costumes for movie studios, where he learned to make historically accurate replicas of tribal clothing.

Davis visited museums, studying artifacts and artwork of the Blackfoot tribe, traveling in the American Northwest and Canada to gain perspective on the Northern Plains' Indians. Back in Los Angeles, he hired Native American actors as models and began to paint while continuing to work full-time at his advertising agency. Two years later, he took his twenty-five best paintings and successfully entered the gallery world. He eventually left the advertising business and returned to his native Florida, where he continues to live and paint.

The Pearce Western Art Collection of Navarro College, in Corsicana, Texas has three of Davis' paintings, "The Apotheosis of EE-NEV-AH", "The Prayer Feather" and "Wildhorse: An American Witness".

Source:
http://www.nav.cc.tx.us/library/westernart/artists/davis.htm

Stan Davis, b. 1942, Salem, Florida, United States

Stan Davis grew up near Tallahassee, Florida. Throughout his childhood, he nurtured an interest in Native American culture. He and his friends would play cowboys and Indians, and comb the local beaches for pottery shards, arrowheads, and other artifacts surviving from pre-Colombian indigenous settlements. Davis showed a propensity for drawing from an early age. With his family's support, he attended every art class he could, eventually graduating with honors from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida. After a year spent working for an advertising agency in Coco Beach, Florida, Davis joined the Air Force. He was discharged in 1968 and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he became the art director for the Richter Mracky-Bates advertising agency, one of the four top advertising agencies in the world. Davis started his own agency in the mid-1970's, and although this required him to adopt a largely administrative role, he continued to draw and paint in his free time.

In 1979, Davis visited several art galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was inspired to create art with Native American themes. Returning to Los Angeles, he initially looked to stills and outtakes from Western movies as starting points for subject material, but soon realized that Hollywood was not the best source of historical accuracy. Davis then visited a costumer's shop run by a husband and wife team, who specialized in creating Native American costumes for local movie studios. Under their tutelage, Davis studied the clothing techniques of various Native American tribes and learned how to make historically and culturally authentic clothes of his own. Davis also visited museums to study the artifacts and artwork of the Blackfoot tribe, and traveled throughout the American Northwest and Canada to gain perspective on the environment where the Northern Plains Indians lived. Back in Los Angeles, he hired aspiring Native American actors to work as models, and began to paint while continuing to work full time at his advertising agency. Two years later, he took his 25 best paintings and plunged into the art market

Davis eventually left the advertising business and returned to his native Florida, where he continues to live and paint, working primarily in oils. Davis paints in a photo-realist style, specializing in portraying scenes of the Blackfoot Indians as they lived during the 19th century. He has also depicted the Sioux and Cheyenne. To ensure historical and cultural accuracy in his work, Davis hand-makes every costume featured in his paintings.

Education
• Ringling School of Art, Sarasota, FL
Selected Exhibitions
• Trailside Galleries, Fall Gold, Jackson, WY, 2000-2013
• Trailside Galleries, High Country Summer, Jackson, WY, 2013
• Trailside Galleries, Western Classics, Jackson, WY, 2000-2013
Selected Publications
• Erivan & Helga Haub Family: Collection of Western Art, Christine Mollring
Selected Press
• Art Talk, Indian Influence, October, 2002
• Art of the West, A Dream Realized, February, 2000
• Art of the West, March/April, 1991
• Southwest Art, February, 1988
Selected Collections
• The Pearce Western Art Collection of Navarro College, Corsicana, TX
• Leanin' Tree & Sculpture Garden of Western Art, Boulder, CO
• Erivan & Helga Haub

Born in 1942, Stan Davis grew up near Tallahassee, Florida. Throughout his childhood, he nurtured an interest in Native American culture. He and his friends would play cowboys and Indians, and comb the local beaches for pottery shards, arrowheads, and other artifacts surviving from pre-Colombian indigenous settlements.

Davis showed a propensity for drawing from an early age. With his family's support, he attended every art class he could, eventually graduating with honors from the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida.

After a year spent working for an advertising agency in Coco Beach, Florida, Davis joined the Air Force. He was discharged in 1968 and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he became the art director for a large advertising agency. Davis started his own agency in the mid-1970's, and although this required him to adopt a largely administrative role, he continued to draw and paint in his free time.

In 1979, Davis visited several art galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, and was inspired to create Native American-themed art. Returning to Los Angeles, he initially looked to stills and outtakes from Western movies as starting points for subject material, but soon realized that Hollywood was not the best source to rely on for historical accuracy. Davis had better luck when he visited a costumer's shop run by a husband and wife team, who specialized in creating Native American costumes for local movie studios. Under their tutelage, Davis studied the clothing techniques of various Native American tribes and learned how to make historically and culturally authentic clothes of his own.

Davis also visited museums to study the artifacts and artwork of the Blackfoot tribe, and traveled throughout the American Northwest and Canada to gain perspective on the environment where the Northern Plains Indians lived. Back in Los Angeles, he hired aspiring Native American actors to work as models, and began to paint while continuing to work full time at his advertising agency. Two years later, he took his 25 best paintings and plunged into the art market, which at the time was especially prosperous. Demand for his work was high, and Davis quickly became a success. He eventually left the advertising business and returned to his native Florida, where he continues to live and paint, working primarily in oils.

Davis paints in a photo-realist style, specializing in portraying scenes of the Blackfoot Indians as they lived during the 19th century. He has also depicted the Sioux and Cheyenne. To ensure historical and cultural accuracy in his work, Davis hand-makes every costume featured in his paintings.

Reference: AskArt.com, The Pearce Western Art Collection at Navarro College