About William Davis

  • Biography

    Born in Setauket, New York William Davis was a painter of trompe l'oeil still life, genre, and landscapes and was primarily self taught. He trained as a boat builder in Port Jefferson, Long Island.

    Davis achieved national recognition in 1962 for three paintings based on the Civil War. The Neglected Picture, a trompe l'oeil image of President Jefferson Davis in a frame behind broken glass brought him great fame. The painting was widely reproduced in print and postcard form. In 1868, Davis exhibited still-life paintings at the National Academy of Design. From 1863-1871, he exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Association.

    In 1872, he moved to Long Island and never again exhibited in New York, pos...

    But wait, there's more...

    Displaying 1,080 of 2,877 characters.

    Subscriber Members, please Sign In for full artist biographies and all services.

    For non-paying users, good news! Full text bios for all artists are available every Friday.

    If you are not currently a member, please See Details about membership.

** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at .

Share an image of the Artist: .