Skip to main content

Herndon Davis Art

1901-1962

Herndon Davis was an American artist, journalist, illustrator and painter who wasn’t recognized in his lifetime and not until recently. He was born in Wynnewood, Oklahoma of rancher parents. At fourteen, Davis moved himself to Kansas City, Missouri to take art lessons. He supported himself with unskilled labor jobs. From there, he went to Chicago and apprenticed as an engraver and commercial artist. In 1920, he joined the army and was stationed in Denver. Davis’ love for Colorado and Denver must have begun at that time. But first, he lived and worked in Washington, D.C., where he worked at the National War Collaege creating maps of China and Japan, and New York City, where he attended the National Academy of Design and Art Students League of New York while working at the New York Herald Tribune, Washington Times-Herald and Washington Daily News. In 1936, he moved to Denver, where he began to capture in paint and pencil notable people and landmarks of Denver and the west. Included in his subject matter were the notorious and the famous whether people or places. Davis is best known for his painting of the face of his wife on the barroom floor in Central City, Colorado. It was inspired by the poem The Face on the Barroom Floor and so it is titled. It wasn’t until after his death that friends were allowed to tell his beloved wife, Nita, was his model.

to
2
2
1
Red Rocks, Southern Colorado, 20th-Century Landscape Painting of Rock Formations
By Herndon Davis
Located in Denver, CO
An exceptional original landscape painting by acclaimed Colorado artist Herndon Davis (1901–1962), showcasing the dramatic natural beauty of Red Rocks Park, located near Morrison, Co...
Category

20th Century American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Oil

1940s Painting by Colorado Artist Herndon Davis of Industrial Interior
By Herndon Davis
Located in Topeka, KS
Incredible 1940s painting by Colorado artist Herndon Davis depicting an industrial interior and workers. It is in wonderful vintage condition, but you...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Industrial Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Wood, Paint

Related Items
Oil on Canvas Painting, Children Playing, 1940s
Located in Barcelona, ES
A colorful oil on canvas representing a group of children playing in a garden area near a Cathedral. Framed by a carved giltwood frame with foliage det...
Category

20th Century Spanish Mid-Century Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Wood, Canvas

Oil on Canvas Painting, Children Playing, 1940s
Oil on Canvas Painting, Children Playing, 1940s
$2,068
H 27.17 in W 28.75 in D 1.58 in
Mid Century Idaho Pack River Landscape
By Laura Lindberg
Located in Soquel, CA
Beautiful American realist view of Pack River in Sandpoint, Idaho by Laura Lindberg (American, 1904-1976). Signed lower right corner "64 L Lindberg". 26 Pack River Laura Lindberg and...
Category

1960s American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Mid Century Idaho Pack River Landscape
Mid Century Idaho Pack River Landscape
$805 Sale Price
30% Off
H 30.5 in W 36.5 in D 2.25 in
Vintage Sunrise Landscape - Sandpipers on the Shore in Oil on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Vintage Sunrise Landscape - Sandpipers on the Shore in Oil on Canvas Gorgeous landscape of a coastline in warm sunrise colors by San Diego artist Richard Keith (American, 1937-2003)...
Category

1970s American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

1940s Abstract French Oil Painting
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Abstract Cubist oil painting on canvas from 1940s France. Moody and dynamic, the image depicts the beginnings of a town. A smoky gray sky gives the scene an industrial feeling, while...
Category

1940s French Mid-Century Modern Vintage Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Paint

1940s Abstract French Oil Painting
1940s Abstract French Oil Painting
$5,000
H 46 in W 32 in D 1 in
Mid Century Fields of Wheat Landscape - Oil on Canvas-Wrapped Illustration Board
By Genevieve Rogers
Located in Soquel, CA
Mid Century Fields of Wheat Landscape - Oil on Canvas-Wrapped Illustration Board Idyllic landscape of a path winding through a field of wheat, punctua...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil, Illustration Board

"Wally's Pond" Rural Landscape in Oil on Masonite
Located in Soquel, CA
"Wally's Pond" Rural Landscape in Oil on Masonite Idyllic rural landscape by Richard M. Bacon (American, 20th Century). A small pond is reflecting the nearby surroundings - birch tr...
Category

Early 2000s American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Masonite, Oil

Broken Wagon Wheel in the Snow Thaw, Original Oil Painting on Canvas
Located in Soquel, CA
Broken Wagon Wheel in the Snow Thaw, Original Oil Painting on Canvas A broken wagon wheel sits along a fence in the dead of winter as signs of the first snow melt begin to show and ...
Category

20th Century American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Original Oil Painting Big Sur, Monterey California Landscape
By Virginia Shackles
Located in Soquel, CA
A beautiful American Impressionist oil seascape of the rugged Big Sur coast, Carmel California by Virginia Shackles (American, 1921-2020). The composition is pleasing with an interes...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"The Fall of Icarus", Dramatic 1940s Painting w/ Male Nude by Emlen Etting
By Emlen Etting
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia artist Emlen Etting returned again and again to the theme of Icarus Falling, in part because it gave him an opportunity to depict the nude male in motion. This is the fi...
Category

1940s American Art Deco Vintage Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Paint

WPA Style Portrait Painting of a Gentleman, American, 1930s-1940s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Portrait painting of Walter Levin, oil on canvas, unframed. Signed Haughton College Bickerton in upper right corner, and having the original gallery label on the back. California Bay...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas

Manayunk Schuylkill River Factory City Scene Philadelphia GIOVANNI MARTINO 1970
By Giovanni Martino
Located in Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Provenance: Private Collection, San Diego, CA. Framed Giovanni Martino, National Academy of Design* member, was born on May 1, 1908 in Philadelphia PA where all seven brothers and one sister, Filomina, Frank, Antonio, Albert, Ernest, Giovanni, Edmond, and William became painters. They were under the tutelage of their eldest brother, Frank, who in the late 1920s, founded the first commercial art* studio, Martino Studios, at 27 South 18th Street. Besides studying with his two eldest brothers, Giovanni also studied with Albert Jean Adolph at La France Institute, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts*, The Graphic Sketch Club, and Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia. In his mid teens he accompanied his two eldest brothers to New Hope searching for subjects to paint. In the 1930s, he also started to paint in Manayunk, a hilly mill town along the Schuylkill River. At this time he signed his paintings M. Giovanni. These colorful impressionistic* works proceeded more thinly painted dramatically poetic street scenes of the mill town. These images developed into impasto* laden oils in the 1960's with some of the paintings worked with a palette knife*. In Manayunk, he was a common sight on the streets and sidewalks, painting on-the-spot with his wife, Eva Marinelli and his two daughters, Nina & Babette. In the 1980's and 90's he also painted in Conshohocken and Norristown with his youngest daughter, Babette. His paintings became more sharply executed like his earlier work but were more colorful. In the late '90's he worked in his studio to enlarge paintings. He is the recipient of over 100 awards and honors. He received the Benjamin Altman Prize in Landscape Painting in 1975 at the National Academy of Design, NYC where he was elected an Academician (NA) in 1944. He mentored not only his wife and two daughters but also taught at Lehigh University and the Graphic Sketch Club, Philadelphia. He died at his home in Blue Bell on February 1, 1997. (Babette Martino...
Category

1970s American Modern Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Paper, Mixed Media, Oil, Tempera

Original Painting of Hunt Scene by Listed Artist Arthur Alfred Davis
By Arthur Alfred Davis
Located in Hopewell, NJ
Artist Arthur Alfred Davis (British, 1877-1905) “Into the River” 19th century sporting oil painting of dogs hunting Image size: 30”x 20” With frame: 35” x 25” Oil on canvas landsca...
Category

Early 1900s English Antique Herndon Davis Art

Materials

Canvas

Original Painting of Hunt Scene by Listed Artist Arthur Alfred Davis
Original Painting of Hunt Scene by Listed Artist Arthur Alfred Davis
$4,900 Sale Price
50% Off
H 25 in W 35 in D 1 in

Herndon Davis art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Herndon Davis art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Herndon Davis in oil paint, paint and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 20th century and is mostly associated with the modern style. Not every interior allows for large Herndon Davis art, so small editions measuring 18 inches across are available. Herndon Davis art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,250 and tops out at $1,250, while the average work can sell for $1,250.

Artists Similar to Herndon Davis

Recently Viewed

View All