Owen William Davis [also known as Owen W. Davis, Owen Davis and O.W. Davis] was born in the Barnstaple, Devon, England in 1838 [or 1839 - sources differ]. He was articled to James Kellaway Colling (1816-1905) in London, and worked as an assistant to Matthew Digby Wyatt (1820-1877) for a number of years.
Although he trained as an architect, Davis worked primarily as a decorative artist and designer. He designed furniture (for James Shoolbred & Co.), wallpaper (for Jeffrey & Co., the Anaglypta Company and W. Woollams & Co.), textiles, ceramics and ironwork. A photograph of a high relief panel frieze designed by Davis and executed by The Anaglypta Company is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1907 (p.132); and a photograph of a ceiling decoration designed by him and executed by The Anaglypta Company is illustrated in 'The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art' 1910 (p.100). Furniture in the Anglo-Japanese style designed by Davis is illustrated in 'Victorian and Edwardian Decor: from Gothic Revival to Art Nouveau' by Jeremy Cooper (New York, NY: Abbeville Press, 1987 p.136). Davis designed furniture in a wide variety of styles. for Shoolbred, a furniture manufacturer based in Tottenham Court Road, London. Furniture he designed for them was shown at the Centennial Exposition (International Exhibition of Arts, Manufacturers and Products of the Soil and Mine) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1876.
Davis was the author of 'Art and Work. As shown in the several artistic industries employed in the use of marble, stone, and terra-cotta; metal, wood, and textile fabrics ... exemplified by 85 lithographic drawings, etc.' (London: Owen W. Davis, 1885), 'Instructions for the adornment and embellishment of dwelling houses, entitled Interior Decoration' (c.1885), and 'The Rudiments of Decorative Painting, as applied to the rooms of a dwelling house' (London: Winsor & Newton, 1886?).
He exhibited at the Royal Academy in London between 1881 and 1884. Davis's address was given as 82 Charlotte Street, London, in 1874; 34 Keppel Street, Russell Square, London, in 1881; and 1 Caroline Street, Bedford Square, London, in 1882. He died in London on 16 July 1913.
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 105, 1913 p.101