JESSIE DAVIS (American, 1887-1969). Ray Davis Ranch, Brackettville, Texas, circa 1950s. Pastel on paper. 8-1/4 x 10-1/4 ...

Description

JESSIE DAVIS (American, 1887-1969)
Ray Davis Ranch, Brackettville, Texas, circa 1950s
Pastel on paper
8-1/4 x 10-1/4 inches (21.0 x 26.0 cm) (sight)
Signed lower right: Jessie Davis

PROVENANCE:
Estate of the artist;
By descent to the present owner.

A student of Frank Reaugh, Martha Simkins, Frank Klepper, and the Art Students League of New York, Jessie Davis exhibited in the Fort Worth and Dallas annuals and at the State Fair of Texas. She also exhibited in the "Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition in 1937 and in the Texas Generals. Davis accompanied Reaugh on sketching trips to Big Bend in 1923 and to northern New Mexico in 1924.
Very much like fellow Reaugh students Alexandre Hogue and Harry Carnohan, Davis transcended the Reaugh method in her mature work. Her earlier pastels such as Canyon, No. 368, clearly show the influence of the pastel master Reaugh. In later works like Ray Davis Ranch, Brackettville, Texas, she moves to a square format and thereby takes her own path away from Reaugh.
In Barn and Shed, No. 367 she stays rooted in a fairly representational style more akin to fellow Reaugh student and sometime teacher on the Reaugh expeditions, Reveau Bassett. Although Davis did not exhibit in the San Antonio Competitive exhibitions, she may have entered works such as Cabin with Cactus and Century Plant for possible selection. Certainly following Dawson Dawson-Watson's success with paintings of prickly pear and century plants, many Texas artists sought to emulate his work.



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