DAVIS, Richard Barrett

English painter. He was appointed animal painter to George IV from 1828, and had had close associations with the Royal Household for a number of years before. Davis’ father, Richard Davis (1750-1825), had been huntsman to George III’s private harriers from 1789, and when the hunt moved to Windsor at the turn of the century the young artist’s talents caught the attention of the King. As early as 1805 he exhibited a painting of His Majesty in his Travelling Chariot Returning to Town from Windsor at the Royal Academy, followed by a picture of Mares and Foals in his Majesty’s Stud at Windsor the following year. As well as painting the King’s horses Davis clearly had access to the Royal Menagerie, and in 1827 painted a portrait of the Nubian Giraffe given to George VI by Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt (Royal Collection).

He started exhibiting at the British Institution in 1808 and at the Society (later Royal Society) of British Artists in 1827. At the last venue he regularly exhibited the maximum number of nine paintings allowed annually for the next ten years. He held various offices in the society, including briefly being president in 1832, ceasing to be a member in 1843.

In 1828 he was made animal painter to George IV, and later held similar appointments to William IV and Queen Victoria. In 1831 he painted an vast panoramic frieze of the coronation procession of William IV (Royal Collection).