Jane Anthony Davis

Jane Anthony Davis (September 2, 1821 – April 1855), was an American artist. Until 1981 she was known only as J. A. Davis.

Davis was born Jane Anthony in Warwick, Rhode Island, the daughter of Giles Anthony and Sara Robinson Greene. In 1838, she briefly attended the Warren Ladies Seminary (in Rhode Island). She married Edward Nelson Davis of Norwich, Connecticut on February 1, 1841, and lived with him in that town for a time. On January 10, 1842, she gave birth to a child. The family moved to Providence, Rhode Island; there she gave birth to another child, her second, on April 26, 1847. In August 1854, she produced her last portrait, of Luella Hodges. She died of tuberculosis eight months later, and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence.

It was common for women artists of the era to sign their work using only their initials, and Davis was no different in this regard; consequently, it was for many years assumed that she was male. In 1981, collectors Sybil and Arthur Kern identified the artist by name, further confirming their identification with two later reports. Another piece, a family portrait, appeared on Antiques Roadshow in 2003, where it was appraised at between $25,000 and $35,000.