1894–1964. One of America's leaders of abstract art. Between 1912 and 1916, while supporting himself as an illustrator for several magazines, he began experimenting with cubist abstraction. Davis introduced a new style of cubism in the United States, basing his compositions on combinations of flattened forms, often abstracted from the urban scene. Drawing on familiar structures and objects, he he would reduce them to flat, sharp-edged shapes arranged in broad, colorful patterns and active lines that punctuate the composition.

Davis exhibited five watercolors at the 1913 Armory Show, unusual recognition for a young artist, and in 1917 he had his first one-person exhibition in New York. His first solo museum exhibition was held in 1925 at the Newark Museum. The following year he was included in the "International Exhibition of Modern Art Arranged by the Société Anonyme for The Brooklyn Museum."