American, 1901 - 1967
Gladys Rockmore Davis spent her first nine years of her life in New York and then moved with her family to Canada, and then to San Francisco where she studied at the California School of Fine Arts. After high school she moved with her parents to Chicago, where she entered the school of the Art Institute and studied with John Norton. She worked as a fashion illustrator for the Marshall Field department store, and in 1925, married Floyd M. Davis, a painter and magazine illustrator. The couple moved to New York where Davis continued in fashion advertising for Vogue.
In 1932, the couple moved to Europe, settling in Cannes, France, near where Renoir had lived and worked. During this period, Davis began to paint seriously, in a manner highly influenced by the work of Renoir in subject matter, form, and color. Her paintings on the theme of mother and children often featured her children, Noel and Deborah. Upon her return to New York she continued her studies at the Art Students League and privately with George Grosz. Signals of her recognition as a painter came in 1937, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acquired acquired her "August Afternoon," and in 1941, when the Midtown Galleries presented an exhibition of her Renoir-inspired pastel paintings. In 1943, Davis published the book "Pastel Painting" and held an exhibition at the Midtown Galleries with work that was moving away from the Renoir palette and towards a more realistic approach.
The artist held subsequent exhibitions held at the Midtown Galleries and she served on the Academy Council from 1955 to 1958. For works shown in Academy annual exhibitions she received the Proctor Prize, 1944; Isador Medal, 1955; and the Proctor Prize for a second time in 1961.
In 1932, the couple moved to Europe, settling in Cannes, France, near where Renoir had lived and worked. During this period, Davis began to paint seriously, in a manner highly influenced by the work of Renoir in subject matter, form, and color. Her paintings on the theme of mother and children often featured her children, Noel and Deborah. Upon her return to New York she continued her studies at the Art Students League and privately with George Grosz. Signals of her recognition as a painter came in 1937, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, acquired acquired her "August Afternoon," and in 1941, when the Midtown Galleries presented an exhibition of her Renoir-inspired pastel paintings. In 1943, Davis published the book "Pastel Painting" and held an exhibition at the Midtown Galleries with work that was moving away from the Renoir palette and towards a more realistic approach.
The artist held subsequent exhibitions held at the Midtown Galleries and she served on the Academy Council from 1955 to 1958. For works shown in Academy annual exhibitions she received the Proctor Prize, 1944; Isador Medal, 1955; and the Proctor Prize for a second time in 1961.
