Davis Francis Schwartz was born in Paris, Kentucky in 1879.  He studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then at art schools in Dayton and Cleveland, Ohio. He then spent three years in Montreal studying under Adam S. Scott.  He worked as a commercial illustrator in Ohio for the Cleveland Plain Dealer.  He moved to California in 1903 and worked for The Los Angeles Times before moving to San Francisco in 1924.  In 1924 he was elected artist for the State Bord of Harbor Commissioners.

Davis Schwartz established his studio in the Ferry Building and for 30 years acted as custodian of the huge relief map of the State of California there. The relief map was huge, two football fields in length, and required an artist's full time effort to maintain it. In the October 3, 2010 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, the map has made news again. It is now the stored property of the Port of SF, and they don't know what to do with it.

'Paradise' found:
70-ton elephant
at S.F. Port
Carl Nolte,
Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 3, 2010

During the 1940's, Davis Schwartz sometimes signed his works "Francis Davis" due to anti-German sentiment.  He worked in both oil and watercolor and won many awards.

His memberships included the Carmel Art Association, Oakland Art Association, Santa Cruz Art League, and Society of Western Artists.  His works are held by the California Historical Society, St. Mary's College, the State Museum Resource Center (Sacramento), and Shasta State Historical Museum. Source: Artists in California 1786 - 1940, Edan Milton Hughes, 3d ed.