Cornelia Cassady Davis Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, b. 1868 - d. 1920

Born in Cleves, Ohio, Cornelia Cassidy Davis became a painter of Indian portraits of great ethnological values.

She began her career as a portrait painter of prominent easterners, having studied four years at the Cincinnati Art Academy as a pupil of Frank Duveneck. She later returned to the school as an Instructor from 1891 to 1897. That year she married Edward C. Davis, and for their honeymoon, they traveled to the Southwest, staying in remote areas on Indian reservations in New Mexico and Arizona.

For some time, the Davises were guests of Lorenzo Hubble and his wife, Lina, who were known for their hospitality at the Hubbell Trading Post to artists passing through Northern Arizona. As a thank you to Lina Hubbell and payment for a long overdue bill, Davis sent her a painting of Hopi girls, Three Moqui Maidens, which is in the Hubbell Collection.

Being a friend of the Hubbells and staying at the trading post, gave Davis entry into many Navajo and Hopi homes, and her paintings became of ethnological importance. They witnessed many of the most sacred ceremonies of the Indian tribes, and although it was her only trip West, the subject matter made her famous for its historic and ethnological value as well as for her obvious skill as a painter.

After this trip, she lived in various places and exhibited widely including the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. She finally settled in Cincinnati in 1905. She was also a portrait painter of prominent easterners, and her work included one of President McKinley, that was permanently hung at Westminster Hall in London. She was also honored when the Cincinnati Men's Art Club asked her to paint with them, the only woman so recognized.