A native of Long Island, he spent most of his life near Port Jefferson and has been praised as the greatest painter of that village.

A contemporary of the Hudson River School, he was greatly influenced by fellow local painter William Sidney Mount.

As a boy, Davis worked in the shipbuilding industry of Port Jefferson before turning to painting full-time.

Aside from a handful of years living in New York City, Moore spent his entire life in the Northwestern Brookhaven area of Long Island.

He was strongly influenced by his friend and fellow painter William Sidney Mount, also of Setauket origins.