Arthur Joseph Davis was born in Bayswater, London on 21 May 1878 and trained as an architect at the École des Beaux-Arts, Paris in the 1890s. From 1900 to 1914 he was in partnership with Charles-Frédéric Mewès (1858-1914) in the London and Paris-based architectural firm Mewès & Davis. Among projects by the firm were the Palm Court of the Carlton Hotel in London in 1901 and the construction and decoration of the London Ritz Hotel from 1903 to 1906. Other commissions included Luton Hoo for Sir Julius Wernher, Coombe Court for Lady De Grey and Polesden Lacey for Mrs Ronald Greville. Davis also designed decorations for a number of banks and ocean liners such as the Aquitania, from 1911 to 1914 and the Queen Mary in 1935.
Davis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1914 and was awarded the RIBA London Architecture Bronze Medal in 1930.
In addition to his work as an architect, Davis was a painter and exhibited at the Royal Academy in London. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1933) and a full Academician (RA) in 1942. He lived for a number of years in Wimbledon, London and died in Kensington, London on 22 July 1951
In partnership with the late Charles Mewès: — the Interior planning and decoration of the Carlton Hotel, London; the construction, and decoration of the Ritz Hotel, London; the "Morning Post" Offices; the Cavalry Club; and the National Sporting Club. With Mr. Charles Mewès and Mr. E. Keynes Purchase: — the Royal Automoblle Club. In partnership with Mr. Charles H. Gage, F.R.I.B.A.: — Head office of the Westminster Bank, Lothbury, and their branches in Threadneedle Street, Brussels and Antwerp; for the Cunard Line: — the S.S.. " Aquitania", S.S. "'Laeonia," and S.S. " Franconia; the Armenian Church, Kensington; numerous banks and town and country residences. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1923]
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‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 182, 27 July 1951 p. 127
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Reilly, C. H. Representative British Architects of the Present Day. London: B. T. Batsford, 1931 [Chapter V. Arthur J. Davis pp. 66-79]
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