Artist Database

South African figural sculptor Bill Davis was born in 1933 in Assam, India but grew up in Cape Town. As a child, he took art lessons from Nan Buncher, the sister of Frieda Lock. He went on to study at the University of Cape Town’s Michaelis School of Fine Art, with a focus in sculpture under Lippy Lipschitz. Davis then moved to Amsterdam and studied at the Rijks Normaal School and the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten. He returned to South Africa in 1962, where he taught at SACS High School and Michaelis School of Fine Art before turning to art full-time, as encouraged by friend and fellow artist Cecil Higgs.

Davis represented South Africa in the 1964 and 1968 Venice Biennales and the 1965 São Paulo Biennale. He was commissioned to create presentation medals and sculptures for many public places and churches. Davis’ works are in numerous private collections around the world and public collections such as the Iziko South African National Gallery in Cape Town, the Rembrandt Collection, the University of the Western Cape, Stellenbosch University, and Sanlam.