24018

WILLIAM M. DAVIS (American 1829-1920)

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:70,000.00 - 80,000.00 USD
WILLIAM M. DAVIS (American 1829-1920)
<B>WILLIAM M. DAVIS (American 1829-1920)</B></I><BR>Jefferson Davis, The Forlorn Cavalier, 1864<BR>Oil on canvas<BR>15in. x 17.25in.<BR>Signed and dated lower right: WM Davis/ 1864<BR>Framed, old label on verso inscribed: The Forlorn Cavalier/ Painted by W.M. Davis of/ Brooklyn NY for/ Capt. E.P. Dorr/ sent to grandfather Merrin/ 1878 Painted 1864<BR>Provenance: the artist, to Capitan E.P. Dorr, c.1864, to Mr. Merrin, 1878<BR>William M. Davis spent most of his life painting and living in the area he loved best, Port Jefferson, Long Island. There he befriended renowned genre painter William Sidney Mount, who lived nearby in Stony Brook. Apparently self-taught, Davis was profoundly influenced by Mount, who was one of the most respected painters in America at that time. Although Davis was never a pupil of Mount's, surviving letters between the two artists show that Mount often gave the younger painter artistic advice and guidance. <BR><BR>Davis opened a studio in New York City in 1868, but in 1872, he returned permanently to the Port Jefferson area, where he was affectionately known as "Painter Davis." Mount had died four years earlier, and to a degree, Davis continued in his mentor's footsteps, providing locals with paintings of villagers pursuing their daily tasks, the area's quiet bays and coves, as well as boats anchored or at sea. <BR><BR>Davis exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Brooklyn Art Association while living in New York City. Once he returned to Long Island, he exhibited exclusively in Port Jefferson, with the exception of a one-man show in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1894. According to the Bridgeport Daily Standard, Davis showed 135 of his works and had over 700 people in attendance. A major retrospective titled <I>Port Jefferson's Foremost Painter: W.M. Davis</B></I> was held at the Historical Society Museum of Greater Port Jefferson in 1973. Davis' works are housed in prestigious private collections and institutions, including the Suffolk Museum, Stony Brook, N.Y; the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, and the New York State Historical Society, Cooperstown. <BR><BR><Condition: Canvas relined on new stretcher bars, craquelure throughout, minor areas of inpaint in background. Reproduction frame.> <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 24.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.