William Davis (New York 1829 – 1920)
Davis exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Brooklyn Art Association while living in New York City. Once he returned to Long Island, he exhibited exclusively in Port Jefferson, with the exception of a one-man show in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1894. According to the Bridgeport Daily Standard, Davis showed 135 of his works and had over 700 people in attendance.
A major retrospective titled Port Jefferson’s Foremost Painter: W.M. Davis was held at the Historical Society Museum of Greater Port Jefferson in 1973.
Davis’ works are housed in prestigious private collections and institutions, including the Suffolk Museum, Stony Brook, N.Y; the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, and the New York State Historical Society, Cooperstown.