Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Davis, Edward (1833-1867)
DAVIS, EDWARD (1833–1867), subject painter, was born at Worcester in 1833, and there acquired the rudiments of drawing, but afterwards entered the Birmingham School of Design, then under the management of J. Kyd. On the removal of this artist to the Worcester school Davis accompanied him and studied there during three years, and carried off several prizes. He died in Rome on 12 June 1867. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1854, his address being 22 Foregate Street, Worcester. The subjects were ‘Meditation,’ representing an old villager sitting by a fireside, and ‘Parting Words,’ being a deathbed scene. In the following year Davis sent to the Academy ‘A Cottage Scene,’ and in 1856 he resided at 16 Russell Place, Fitzroy Square. Among some of his best works may be mentioned: ‘On the Way to School’ (engraved by William Ridgway), ‘Granny's Spectacles,’ ‘Doing Crochet Work’ (1861), ‘Words of Peace’ (1867), and ‘The Little Peg-top.’
[Redgrave's Dict. of English Artists; Royal Academy Catalogues.]