Late 19th century hand colored etching titled "On the River Bank" by Arthur Fuller Davis. Landscape showing a pair of young girls seated on a hill above a lake / river. Signed in plate A.F. Davis 1889, lower left. Pencil signed, lower right. "No. 434 On the River Bank, Etching. by A.F. Davis" printed, lower right edge. Paper; un-framed.

Arthur Fuller Davis was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts's on March 27, 1863. His family moved to Acton, Massachusetts when he was approximately 7 years old. He was an only child and his father was a farmer. One of Davis' earliest works is of cows, painted on the stall doors of his father's barn. He graduated from Acton Center Grammar School and studied art in Malden, Massachusetts 1885-1886 with Albion H. Bicknell. Davis lived in New York City 1890-1892 while he continued his studies. He was a member of the American Watercolor Society. He exhibited at the prestigious National Academy of Design 1888, at the Art Institute of Chicago 1894, at the Boston Art Club 1888-1898, and at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art 1894-1898. Davis also trained as an etcher and was unwilling to allow anyone to produce etchings of his work other than himself. His etchings generally seem to be dated between 1890 and 1900. He returned to Acton 1892 due to his mother's ill health. He remained in Acton the rest of his life, continuously sketching and painting what he saw on his frequent walks and bicycle trips around town. In 1902 he was elected the Librarian of the Acton Memorial Library and served 43 years. His home at 491 Main Street was diagonally across the street from the Library, making for an easy commute. The detailed descriptions in his journals, and his many sketchbooks, give us a vivid picture of life in the Town over a period of 60 years. In 1935 he wrote a history of the Acton Memorial Library, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town. Occasionally, he traveled to New Hampshire and other areas of Massachusetts-Annisquam (his mother's childhood home), Roxbury, Quincy, and Cape Cod. Evidence of his travels is found in his sketchbooks at the Acton Memorial Library and the Acton Historical Society. In his later years, arthritis and deteriorating eyesight limited his work. He was cared for in his final years at Chickering's Nursing Home on Chadwick Street in South Acton. A set of his final sketches is not signed because he felt them to be inferior to his earlier works. Arthur Fuller Davis passed away in South Acton, Massachusetts on February 9, 1953. (askART / Acton Memorial Library)