Charles H. Davis (1856-1933)

A leading American Barbizon painter, Charles H. Davis was one of many artists who sought out foreign instruction during the 19^th century.  A student of Otto Grundmann’s at the Boston Museum School, Davis traveled to Paris in 1880 to enroll in the Académie Julian under Bougereau, Boulanger and Lefebvre until 1882.  Unlike many of his contemporaries, Davis chose not to return to the United States after the completion of his instruction, but settled in the village of Fleury, near Barbizon.  He remained there for ten years, becoming well known as a leading American Barbizon painter and exhibiting regularly at the Salons while also sending works home to Boston for yearly one-man exhibitions at Doll and Richards Galleries.  

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Davis returned to the United Sates in 1891, choosing Mystic, Connecticut, as his new home, a place full of mood and atmosphere for his brush to capture.  Davis’ energetic compositions, more impressionistic in nature towards the end of his career, earned him prizes and awards almost annually from, among others, the Chicago Art Institute, the National Academy of Design, and the Pan-Pacific Exposition.  He was also awarded the Lippincott Prize from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1901, a silver medal at the Paris Exposition of 1889 and a medal at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.  Davis worked to found the Mystic Art Association in his new home and was made a member of the National Academy of Design in 1906.  He also belonged to the Society of American Artists, the Copley Society and The Lotus Club.