Jeanne Davies Sold at Auction Prices

b. 1936 -

Jeanne Davies was born in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1936. She attended the Scotch Plains school system. While often waiting for a bus outside of an art store, she dreamed of one day being a painter and selling her pictures to others. After high school, she pursued that dream by attending the New York School of Visual Arts. She left school after a year, got married and moved around the country with her husband before settling in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. While raising her children, Jeanne painted on everything she could get her hands on—walls, canvas, velvet, glass, wood, furniture… She painted game boards, theorems, and primitive portraits. Whatever she painted was quickly purchased by antique collectors at open air antique markets. At Shupp’s Grove, Pennsylvania, she met a dealer from Lancaster who became interested in selling her pictures. Jeanne went on to paint over 2,000 paintings that were purchased by this particular art dealer. This dealer bought all of Jeanne’s work which included landscapes in the various seasons, water scenes, Amish scenes, Apple Picking scenes/farm scenes, family portraits, children, a Noah’s Ark, and all types of pictures with animals. Jeanne earned over $1,000,000 during her 26 years of painting. When the relationship dissolved in 2003, Jeanne retired from painting. She dedicated time to her garden and her grandchildren. She painted pictures for family and friends.

In 2006, she became aware that some of her work had sold under a different artist’s name. (Albert Webster Davies) She has no knowledge as to when, why, or how her pictures became attributed to someone other than herself. She realized that despite selling everything she has ever painted, she had no identity in the art world. She had been incredibly proud and always believed that her art work was sold as the work of Davies or Jeanne Davies. Now she knows that her work can be sometimes attributed to Albert Webster Davies or some people have been told that she is “Grandma Davies”. Her spirit broke as she became aware that she is in danger of never getting the recognition or credit for her talent.

Her dream almost came true. She did become an artist with amazing talent who sold an unbelievable amount of beautiful paintings. Unfortunately the recognition was misplaced in some cases. Jeanne Davies is now out of retirement and painting again to try to get the name and credit back that she completely deserves. She deserves to be known. She is using her acrylic paints and her oil paints to continue to turn out lovely paintings in both mediums with the signature “Davies” on them. There are 2,000 and counting paintings of hers out there. Let’s hope people now and in the future will learn that there was a painter named Jeanne Davies and they will see the work she so lovingly created.

Written in 2007 by Gail Davies Speers, the artist’s daughter

Editor's note: Artfact has changed the attribution to Ms. Davies from Albert Webster Davies on certain lots in the Artfact database to reflect the artist's wishes. These changes were made with the permission of the auction house(s) who sold the works.