Willis E. Davis (painter)

He made a career as a contractor in electrical engineering before he started painting, and he was also interested in commerce, serving as director of several firms.

Davis's father was respected for his leadership and citizenship, having been a member of the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance, and the president of the Society of California Pioneers.

[4] Returning to California after college, Davis settled in San Francisco, taking residence among other well-to-do citizens in Pacific Heights at 2501 Scott Street.

[13] In December 1903 Davis brought four canvases to this annual event, gaining particular attention for his landscape titled Orange County Hills.

[13] He was serving as president when the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art was destroyed by the catastrophic fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Davis quickly established a temporary office in Lower Pacific Heights near his own home, and he began the process of rallying support to finance the rebuilding of the institute.

[24][25] Davis's health remained perilous after his wife's death, so he convinced his painter friend Gamble to accompany his travels.

Davis reported in February 1910 that he wanted to stay for a couple of months in Nice, and that he intended to visit Russia, Germany, Denmark and Great Britain before returning home at the end of 1910.

[26] One newspaper account said that Davis had long been suffering from neurasthenia, and that the suicide was the result of grief from losing his wife combined with increasingly poor health and a nervous breakdown.