Floyd Davis
(1896 - 1966)
Floyd Davis had no formal art training, but learned on the job, working his way from lithography apprentice to being an accomplished illustrator for magazines like Woman's Home Companion, American Magazine, and a long run at the Saturday Evening Post (yet, for the last, he only did one cover). Davis first established his artistry as someone who could capture the rich, beautiful people of the 1920s: dashing, mustachioed men; the cool, svelte women. But Davis was just as capable at capturing just-plain-folk, and with a cartoonist's sensibilities and a fresh humor, he expanded into story art and ad work that called characters of every persuasion. Davis' early career was almost derailed by love. He returned from WWI duty to work at Grauman Brothers, Chicago. When a woman artist was hired, Davis was so distracted, that the woman had to be let go. She still preoccupied his mind, so he courted her, then became his wife, and an arguably more famous artist, Gladys Rockmore Davis (when asked for interviews, he'd quip, "Why bother with me when there is a real artist in the family?" In 1961, he was inducted into the Society of Illustrator's Hall of Fame.
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Story Art (194?) Davis, F - 001A
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Real Silk Hosiery (1925) Davis, F - 002
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Hinds Honey and Almond Ceam (1930) Davis, F - 003
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Citizen Kane (1940) Davis, F - 004
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American Magazine, "Yellow Shoes" (1944) Davis, F - 005
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EverReady, "Perfecting the Gift of Radio" (1927) Davis, F - 006
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Spud (1921) Davis, F - 007
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Ten High (1939) Davis, F - 008
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Sealex, "Something New in the Stores!" (1928) Davis, F - 009
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Caterpillar Diesel, "It Even Gave You Your Footlights"
(1944) Davis, F - 010
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Grape Nuts, "Why Men Leave Home Half Fed" (1927) Davis, F - 011
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College Humor, "Fire Magic" (1931) Davis, F - 012
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Hallicrafters Radio, "Meet Your New Neighbor" (1944) Davis, F - 013
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Nabisco, "Have a Cookie" (1938) Davis, F - 014
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Real Silk Hosiery (1924) Davis, F - 015
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Saturday Evening Post (1939) Davis, F - 016
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Life, "England at War" (1944) Davis, F - 017
NOTE: That's Davis, upper left, painting his way through Europe, especially England, as is shown in the four color selections (Bob Hope is lower right, joking up the troops).
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Lord Calvert, Davis at his easal (1946) Davis, F - 018
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Hupp Motors (1930) Davis, F - 019
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Ford, "We Fly" (1930) Davis, F - 020
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De Soto Airflow,"Florida Highlights by Floyd Davis" (1936) Davis, F - 021
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Sealex (1929) Davis, F - 022
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Elgin Watches (1930) Davis, F - 023
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Johnnie Walker "Hialeah Races" (1937) Davis, F - 024
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