PERMANENT COLLECTION

JACK DAVIS

NATIONALITY: American / Canadian

DATES: 1920-1998

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jack Davis, a native of New Jersey, moved to Summerland and studied architectural drafting for a year and a half after graduating from high school. Following his discharge from the U.S. Air Force, he attended the Philadelphia College of Art, graduating with a major in advertising design. He worked for a short time at a Philadelphia art school, then moved to San Francisco where he developed his skills as a package designer. His first advertising position was as a Production Manager, and he was later employed as an Art Director at various advertising agencies. In the late 1960s he was awarded first prize in the outdoor poster category in an annual creative competition of the Advertising Association of the West. In the 1960s he became active as a Sunday Painter, solo shows, and in 1972 emigrated to Canada with his wife.

Davis exhibited in numerous shows, including the Los Angeles County Museum, DeYoung Memorial Museum in San Francisco, the Richmond California Art Museum, and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Besides two San Francisco solo shows, he’s had a number of solo shows in Vancouver, North Vancouver, and the Okanagan. His work is represented in the Canada Council Art Bank Collection, the public art collection of the City of Vancouver, the Penticton Art Gallery, the Hiram Walker and Sons Collection of Canadian Art, and in numerous private collections in the U.S. and Canada.

He was also a founding member of the Okanagan Artists Alternative Association that was founded in 1988.