The Itinerant Portraitist
Joseph H. Davis was an itinerant American portrait painter active between 1832 and 1837. Known by the name "Pine Hill Joe," he produced approximately 150 watercolor portraits of residents in Maine and New Hampshire. His work is characterized by a calligraphic line, a delicate miniaturizing quality, and decorative stylization. He often included calligraphic ink inscriptions at the foot of his portraits, noting the names, ages, and towns of his sitters. In many of these works, he signed his name and added the personal description "LEFT HAND / PAINTER," a detail that helped historians confirm he was a left-handed artist.
His compositions frequently featured subjects in strict profile, while their bodies were positioned in a three-quarter view. He is particularly recognized for his double portraits of married couples facing one another across a table. These paintings often depicted subjects within interior settings typical of nineteenth-century rural New England homes, including items such as musical instruments, inkwells, and books. Other period-specific elements found in his work include the Klismos Chair, banjo clocks, and painted floor cloths.
Life and Legacy
Born in Limington, United States, Davis was the son of land trader Joseph Davis and Phebe. While his brief career as an artist spanned only about five years, his works have been featured in major exhibitions and are held in various important collections. After his period of painting, he engaged in land speculation, manufacturing, and inventing. He died in Woburn, Massachusetts.
