Biography

Kenneth Davies, known as Ken Davies, was an American painter born on December 20, 1925, in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and passed away on December 24, 2017. He was renowned for his trompe-l'œil paintings, a style that creates the optical illusion of three-dimensionality. Davies studied at Yale University, where he painted his first significant oil painting, "Lighthouses in the Alps," which garnered attention from influential figures in the New York art scene. This early recognition led to his first solo exhibition at the Hewitt Gallery in 1951, where all his works were sold. Davies had a long and impactful teaching career at the Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut, where he influenced many artists and eventually became the dean. His paintings are characterized by meticulous detail and a surreal quality, often resembling photographs due to his labor-intensive technique using sable brushes. In 1962, he shifted his focus back to still life painting and achieved further success with representation by Hirschl & Adler Galleries, where he held a solo exhibition in 1978. Collectors value his work for its technical precision and the intriguing interplay of realism and illusion.