George Davis

George Arthur David Davis (b 1930), artist. A love of all living things is at the core of Davis' art. A gifted draughtsman, his drawings reveal a deep understanding of his subject due to acuity of observation and command over form and structure. Portraits have occupied Davis most in maturity. He was also responsible for the portraits of ten composers in the restored dome of the Theatre Royal, Hobart, in 1984. Born in Hobart, Davis was a student of Jack Carington Smith and Dorothy Stoner at Hobart Technical College, and studied in London with a Tasmanian Travelling Scholarship. His work has been a feature of Tasmanian art since he first exhibited in Hobart in 1951. Surveys of his work were staged at the University of Tasmania in 1980 and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery in 1988.

Further reading: H Kolenberg, 'Three painters in Tasmania – George Davis, David Chapman and Anton Holzner', Art in Australia 22/4, 1985; TMAG, George Davis, Hobart, 1988.