George Davison (British, 1856–1930)

b. 1856 — d. 1930

George Davison British, 1856-1930 George Davison is known as the founder of impressionistic photography, a movement he initiated in 1890 as an extension of the naturalistic theories of Peter Henry Emerson. This, however, infuriated Emerson, who subsequently renounced earlier statements regarding photography as art. Davison was an amateur who had been an audit clerk at the English Treasury before going to work in 1897 for Kodak, Ltd., where he became managing director and a board member. In 1913 he was forced out as a consequence of his strong Christian Socialist convictions. He used his personal wealth (gained from early purchase of Kodak stock) for altruistic purposes organizing weekend seminars to teach workers about socialism and, during World War II, providing a home in northern Wales for children from London's East End. Early on, Davison worked in a straightforward photographic manner (Kodak used several of his photographs in their advertisements), but after 1890 he also began to produce impressionistic images in a more pictorial style. He joined the London Camera Club in 1885, serving as secretary in 1886, and was also affiliated with the Royal Photographic Society and was a founding member of the Linked Ring. From 1888-1914 Davison exhibited his work in Europe and the United States. He died at his winter home in Antibes. T.W.F.