William Davis Indian River Sunset Florida Lagoon Oil Painting on Board

View Similar Items

Jo Patch Oil on Board Painting

Oil on Board Painting Connecticut Scene

Jo Patch Oil on Board Painting

"Jack Knife" Acrylic Painting on Board by William Mongomery Phelps

Framed Oil Painting on Board by Sara Skaaning

Want more images or videos?

Request additional images or videos from the seller

1 of 13

William Davis Indian River Sunset Florida Lagoon Oil Painting on Board

About the Item

Vintage William R Davis oil painting on board featuring a landscape / seascape with a bird, trees and a view of the Indian River at sunset. Signed lower left and on verso. Purchased in 2007 at the Vero Beach Meghan Candler Gallery, "On the Water"" exhibition. The Indian River is a 121-mile long brackish lagoon in Florida. It is part of the Indian River Lagoon system, which in turn forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It was originally named Rio de Ais after the Ais Indian tribe, who lived along the east coast of Florida, but was later given its current name. Provenance: Estate of J. Frederic Gagel, owner of multiple Thoroughbred race horses that competed in the Narragansett Special and Kentucky Derby. Their family heritage was strongly intertwined with the military having officers in battles dating back to the American Revolution. About William William R. Davis, was born 1952, in Somerville, Massachusetts. Mostly self-educated as a painter, Davis has combined natural artistic ability with a capacity for keen observation of art from the past, an interest in art history, and an art historian's instinct for ferreting out highly abstruse bits of information about past technique. Until fairly recently, Davis built his reputation primarily as a marine artist, specializing in highly detailed, beautifully finished small oils. Presently, both his field studies and finished studio landscapes continue to reflect his interest in highly detailed smaller works. Past years he has devoted more time to historical views. Including many East Coast lighthouses that were replaced or no longer exist. Davis has been included in the E.H.H. Archibald's authoritative volume on Marine Art from the Flemish masters to the present. His work has been on the cover of American Artist Magazine and in depth article in American Art Collector . Also illustrated in many museum exhibition catalogs, books and magazines including Smithsonian, Cape Museum of fine Art, Cahoon Museum, St. Botolph Club, Mystic Seaport Museum, American Yacht Club, The Haggin Museum and more. Once you have seen a painting by William R. Davis, you will understand why Mr. Davis has a national reputation as one of the best marine artists presently working in the United States. Mr. Davis grew up in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He is a self-taught artist whose oil paintings typically capture the serene light of sunrise or sunset on the water. He employs many of the techniques traditionally used by American luminosity painters to realize his personal vision, showing a marked preference for 19th century subjects. In 1987, Davis made history with the first one artist show ever mounted at the prestigious Mystic Maritime Gallery in Mystic, Connecticut. All twenty of the works featured in that show were sold at the opening reception. In 1990 he received the Mystic Maritime Gallery Award of Excellence and his painting entitled """"Calm Day off Latimer's Reef"""" appeared on the cover of Mystic's The Art of the Sea Calendar in 1993. Three of his paintings were also used in Shipwrecks Around Boston by noted Cape Cod author, William P. Quinn. Rockport Publishers has included Boston Harbor at Sunset in a new book entitled, A Gallery of Marine Art. He has also been included in the latest edition of E.H.H. Archibald's authoritative volume on Marine Art from the Flemish masters to the present. Much of Davis' early works pays homage to 19th century artists such as James Bard, Martin Johnson Heade, Antonio Jacobsen and Fitz Hugh Lane. He limits himself to about 30 colors in the palette of that period. He describes his style as """"A conglomerate of a number of ideas I saw in other artists with my own refinements"""". Over the years, he has incorporated his fascinations for the different techniques of these artists. This may be best explained in the works of painter, William Merritt Chase, prominently displayed in his studio, """"The most original painters are those who have stolen here a little and there a little from everyone. When they arrive a the levels of the masters, they will find they can do so much better work themselves that they can't help being original"""". In a tribute to Martin Johnson Heade which appeared in the July 1991 issue of American Artist magazine, Davis refers to sunset as """"the hour when night usurps day"""". He observes that this is the """"best time of day for painters to capture the 'inner state' of a landscape"""" and represents """"an unequaled opportunity to sensitize the eye to the delicate mysteries of light and shadow"""". In the September 1992 issue of Soundings, former Mystic Maritime Gallery Director, J. Russell Jinishian, described Davis by saying """"His work evokes the gentility and natural beauty of the 19th century, a time we look back on with some nostalgia as it was a time less complicated and more civilized"""". Although best known for his marine subjects, Davis strives to make his work accessible to those with a variety of tastes while expanding his own horizons as an artist. Following the tremendous popularity of Davis' """"Lilacs and Basket"""", featured on the poster for The Cahoon Museum of American Art 1992 exhibition entitled, """"The Flowers of New England"""", the Nantucket Basket series began. Note cards and limited-edition prints are now available. Davis has shifted in the last few years to painting more landscapes on location. In the process, he has converted to plein air painting, partly influenced by his friendship with artists Joseph McGurl and Donald Demers. During 1998 the three friends painted together in various locations all over New England. The result of their efforts was a show entitled The New American Luminists Revisit the Native Landscape held at Tree's Place in Orleans, Massachusetts. In April 2001, Wm. Davis' work was illustrated on the cover of American Artist Magazine along with an in-depth article about his work. Cape Cod Life collector's edition named Davis as one of the Top 400 most influential, famous, and intriguing people on Cape Cod. Davis was also an invited panelist at the national conference on representational painting, sponsored by American Artist magazine and held in the Summer of 2004. MEMBERSHIPS: Fellow Artist Member of the American Society of Marine Artists Artist Member of The Guild of Boston Artists Board of Trustee Cape Cod Maritime Museum Artist Member Salmagundi Club New York, NY ARC Living Master - Art Renewal Center He is a founding member of the """"New American Luminists"""". AWARDS: 1989 Award of Excellence – Mystic Maritime Gallery International Show 1991 Second Place – Copley Society 1999 Award of Excellence – Mystic Maritime Gallery International Show 2018 Best in Show- BoldBrush Art Show Faso 2018 Award of Excellence - Mystic Maritime Gallery International Show 2018 Certificate of Merit -The Salmagundi Club 2020 Award of Merit - The Guild of Boston Artists 2023 Honorable Mention 16th Art Renewal Center Salon Dimensions 20.75" x 18.75"h x 4.25", sans 11" x 9".

Dimensions:
Height: 18.75 in (47.63 cm)Width: 20.75 in (52.71 cm)Depth: 4.25 in (10.8 cm)
Style:
Modern (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Paint
Place of Origin:
United States
Period:
Late 20th Century
Date of Manufacture:
Late 20th Century
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Good conditoin, wear and distressing commensurate with age and use, light scuffing to frame.
Seller Location:
Dayton, OH
Reference Number:
Seller: 370061stDibs: LU5343233013632