Morning at the Little Daisy, Jerome (Mañana en Little Daisy, Jerome), 1936

Lew Davis, American, 1910 - 1979

1936

painting

oil on panel

Gift of Talley Industries in memory of Franz G. Talley

1983.135

© Phoenix Art Museum. All rights reserved. Photo by Ken Howie.

American and Western American

Yes

North Wing, Second Floor, Western American Art Gallery

Born in the copper mining town of Jerome, Lew Davis left Arizona for New York for art study. He returned to the state in 1935 in the depths of the Depression, and became involved in local New Deal programs, which included teaching art at the Phoenix Federal Art Center, head by Philip C. Curtis. His paintings are Regionalist in style, inspired by the copper miners, their families, and the towns in which they lived. His training at the National Academy of Design made him a strong figure painter, as evidenced by his portrayal of nine sturdy miners at the beginning of their shift.