Davis was born and bred in Worcester, where he studied at the School of Design before continuing his training in Birmingham. He was a contemporary of and collaborator with BW Leader (Davis painted figures, Leader the landscape around them) - but Davis was not as ambitious as Leader. He painted scenes of country life, often of children or families, all with an extraordinary clarity of observation and absence of sentimentality in the characterisation of the figures. This sketch, drawn by a 22-year-old Davis, is informal and intimate.