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Introduction to the Exhibit
In early 2002,
the Georgetown University Art Collection received an unexpected
gift of more than one-hundred religious-image drawings by John
Watson Davis (1870 - 1959). The drawings were given by the artist's
youngest and sole surviving child, Adele Davis Durant, and her
son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Jackie Dienemann. (Mrs. Dienemann
is an adjunct professor with the School of Nursing and Health
Studies.)
These pencil drawings with occasional
touches of white gouache, many of which were preparatory studies
for publications of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith
and other organizations, augment the Art Collection's holdings
of work by U.S. artists, and of art significant to the University's
Catholic heritage. As preparatory studies, many of the drawings
contain editorial comments in the margins; this provides insight
into the creative processes of an artist working from life models
and adapting his work to paintings to be used for mass-produced
color printing.
The drawings are all on newsprint-a reasonable
choice for a prolific commercial artist, but problematic for
a curator and conservator. Inexpensive and lightweight, with
its relatively smooth surface the paper can capture the range
of impressions made by heavy- and light-weight pencil lead, while
also being sturdy enough to absorb gouache (opaque watercolor)
where applied. However, with its high acidic content, newsprint
will inevitably fade and disintegrate, particularly when exposed
to light. Consequently, the drawings range from fine to very
poor condition; some that might have been shown due to their
artistry or historical significance had to be omitted because
of their fragility.
John Watson Davis had a career for six decades as an illustrator;
in addition to his religious commissions, his drawings appeared
in Zane Grey novels, in editions of Sherlock Holmes tales and
Bluebeard, and in other books and magazines. His
father was John Steeple Davis, also a book illustrator. Born
in New York, Davis moved with his family to Paris when he was
ten years old, where he received his art training. This was a
time when many artists from North America and elsewhere flocked
to Paris, then the pre-eminent city for the visual arts, to study
with masters in schools that emphasized rendering of the human
form.
Davis returned to Brooklyn when he was
in his twenties, and began his commercial artist career. To avoid
confusion with other artists named "John W. Davis,"
he began signing his work "J. Watson Davis." He married
Agnes Danforth, with whom he had four children; they subsequently
moved to Hollis, New York. Davis was living in California at
the time of his death.
- David C. Alan
Art Technician;
Curator for the Exhibit
The Georgetown University Art Collection
is grateful to Mrs. Durant and to the Dienemanns for their generous
donation.
Biographical information on the artist
was supplied by Mrs. Durant.
Select historical information from
the Catholic
Encyclopedia.
Donors to the Exhibit
- Adele Davis Durant; Tustin,
California
- Paul and Jackie Dienemann;
Davidson, North Carolina
- The Missionary Oblates of
Mary Immaculate; Belleville, Illinois and Washington, D.C.
Lender to the Exhibit
Carole Monaghan;
Tustin, California
Drawings on the Web site and
in related publications are reproduced courtesy Adele Davis Durant,
and Paul and Jackie Dienemann.
The following persons are
acknowledged for their support for and assistance with this exhibit:
University Librarian
Artemis G. Kirk; Associate University Librarian for Special Collections
Marty Barringer; Art Collection Coordinator LuLen Walker; Curator
of Prints Emeritus The Reverend Joseph A. Haller, S.J.; The Reverend
Joseph N. Tylenda, S.J., Director of the Woodstock Theological
Library; Sister Mary Agnes Schlather, Marketing Department, National
Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows; The Reverend Allan Maes, O.M.I.,
National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows; Douglas C. Speeckaert,
Archivist, Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, United States
Province; Gifts Librarian Elizabeth Smith; Manuscripts Librarian
Nicholas B. Scheetz; Director of Development Marji Bayers; Development
Assistant Stephanie S. Hughes; Interim Development Coordinator
Caroline W. Griswold
Matting by Frames By Rebecca;
Silver Spring, Maryland
Graphic Artist David Hagen
and the staff of the Library's Audio-Visual Learning Resource
Center provided color graphics and photographs
The Charles Marvin Fairchild
(SFS '48) Memorial Gallery was established in 1997 through the
generous donation of Mrs. Charles Marvin Fairchild, to provide
a permanent exhibit venue for changing selections from the Georgetown
University Art Collection's holdings of works on paper and other
small objects.
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