Eleanor Layfield Davis
{{Short description|American painter (1911–1985)}}
{{About|the North Carolina artist|the cartoonist and illustrator|Eleanor Davis}}
{{Infobox artist
| name = Eleanor Layfield Davis
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| birth_name = Eleanor Layfield
| birth_date = 1911
| birth_place = Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1985|9|2|1911||}}
| death_place = Winston–Salem, North Carolina, U.S.
| resting_place = Forsyth Memorial Park
| nationality = American
| alma_mater = Meredith College
| spouse = Egbert L. Davis Jr.
| known_for = Painting, sculpting
| training = UNC-Greensboro
Arts and Crafts Association of Winston-Salem
| movement =
| notable_works =
| patrons =
| awards =
| elected =
| website =
}}
Eleanor Layfield Davis (1911 – September 2, 1985), also called ELDA, was an American painter. She served on the Board of Trustees for Meredith College and both Meredith and Wake Forest University award art scholarships in her memory.
Life
Eleanor Layfield Davis was born Eleanor Layfield in 1911, in Richmond, Virginia. She grew up in the Raleigh, North Carolina area, attending Peace College and Sweet Briar College. Davis went on to graduate from Meredith College in 1932.{{cite web|title=Sawtooth School for Visual Art in Winston-Salem, NC, Features Works by Eleanor Layfield Davis|url=http://carolinaartsnews.wordpress.com/tag/eleanor-layfield-davis/|work=Carolina Arts News|publisher=Carolina Arts magazine|access-date=November 26, 2012|date=May 14, 2012}} She was married to Egbert Lawrence Davis Jr. (1911–2006){{cite news|title=Egbert L. Davis Jr. Obituary |url=http://obituaries.news-record.com/obituaries/news-record/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=19903935 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130130041214/http://obituaries.news-record.com/obituaries/news-record/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=19903935 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 30, 2013 |access-date=November 27, 2012 |newspaper=Greensboro News & Record |date=November 11, 2006 }} and had four children.
Davis did not start painting until she was 47 years old. She primarily signed her works with the name ELDA developed from her initials. In addition to paintings, Davis also drew sketches and sculpted. She spent much of her life helping build up the arts community in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.{{cite news|last=Heller|first=Faith|title=Her Legacy|newspaper=Winston-Salem Journal|date=August 31, 1986}} She studied art at the Arts and Crafts Association of Winston-Salem and took some courses at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Davis was a founder and President of Associated Artists of Winston-Salem as well as organizer of Art Gallery Originals. Davis died on September 2, 1985, at Baptist Hospital in Winston–Salem. She was buried in Forsyth Memorial Park.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/winston-salem-journal-davis-4-sep-1985/166437862/ |title=Davis |date=1985-09-04 |newspaper=Winston-Salem Journal |page=16 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2025-02-22}}{{Open access}}
Awards & honors
- Three awards at the Cloroben Arts and Crafts Exhibitions in Chicago and Miami
- Champion Paper Award at the Henley Southeastern Spectrum (1982)
- Meredith College awards the Eleanor Layfield Davis Scholarship for artistic talent.{{cite web|title=Art Scholarships |url=http://www.meredith.edu/academics/ugcat0809.pdf |work=Undergraduate Catalog 2008-2009 |publisher=Meredith College |access-date=November 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130924072703/http://www.meredith.edu/academics/ugcat0809.pdf |archive-date=September 24, 2013 }}
- Wake Forest University's first art scholarship was named for Davis.{{cite web|title=Art Scholarships|url=http://www.wfu.edu/art/scholarship.html#Davis|publisher=Wake Forest University|access-date=November 26, 2012}}
- The Meredith College's ceremonial mace was presented to the college in memory of Davis by her husband, Egbert L. Davis Jr.{{cite web|title=Elements of The Commencement Ceremony |url=http://www.meredith.edu/commencement/commencement_elements.php |publisher=Meredith College |access-date=November 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102053804/http://www.meredith.edu/commencement/commencement_elements.php |archive-date=November 2, 2012 }}
- The Eleanor and Egbert Davis Gallery is named after Davis and her husband and hosts exhibits at The Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts in Winston-Salem.{{cite web |title=About Us: Gallery |url=http://www.sawtooth.org/about-us/gallery.html |publisher=Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts |access-date=November 27, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231083100/http://sawtooth.org/about-us/gallery.html |archive-date=December 31, 2012 }}
Exhibitions
During her lifetime, Davis produced many works that she exhibited both in group shows and in 15 individual exhibitions around the Southeast.
Posthumous exhibitions include a retrospective at Wake Forest University's Scales Fine Arts Center Gallery in 1986, and ELDA – Paintings by Eleanor Layfield Davis at the Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts in 2012. In early 2010, some of her works were included in a Meredith College alumnae art showcase.{{cite news|title=Meredith alumnae art on display |url=http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/23/402285/meredith-alumnae-art-on-display.html |access-date=November 27, 2012 |newspaper=Raleigh News & Observer |date=March 23, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220071915/http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/03/23/402285/meredith-alumnae-art-on-display.html |archive-date=December 20, 2011 }}
Some of Davis' artwork was purchased by the North Carolina Art Society for the loan collection of the North Carolina Museum of Art.
References
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Category:Painters from North Carolina
Category:Meredith College people
Category:Artists from Richmond, Virginia
Category:People from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:William Peace University alumni