Artwork Information

  • Title:

    Self-Portrait

  • Artist:

    Davison, Edmund L.

  • Artist Bio:

    American, 1877–1944

  • Date:

    1932

  • Medium:

    Lithograph

  • Dimensions:

    7 3/4 x 7 1/2 inches

  • Credit Line:

    Wichita Art Museum, Gift of Marjorie Swann and William M. Tsutsui

  • Object Number:

    2020.15.26

  • Display:

    Not Currently on Display


About the Artwork

Davison was a leading figure in the early Wichita art scene. The son of a local banker, Davison studied at the Art Institute of Chicago as a young man before joining his father’s bank. After several years as a banker, he saw a Birger Sandzén painting on the wall of a local feed store and promptly took a leave of absence from the bank to study with Sandzén at Bethany College. Davison then became a driving force in the foundation of the Wichita Art Association, serving as the first secretary-treasurer and as one of the first instructors. Davison and his wife Faye also became vital links between Wichita and Southwestern artists—they spent their summers in Taos and quickly became friends with artists in the Taos and Santa Fe art colonies. The Davisons invited many of these artists, including B. J. O. Nordfeldt, to visit Wichita, stay at their home, and lecture and teach at the Art Association. The Davisons also left a large portion of their collection of Southwestern art to the Wichita Art Museum.