A Brief Description

      As a retired homicide detective, an artist and an author who is world-traveled, the diversity of Davis Morton’s life is reflected in his paintings. When he paints horses there is always something in each painting of the horse he owned for 30 years. His landscapes are often fields he rode across or islands where his kayak landed. His city scenes and night-life paintings may be reminiscent of Edward Hopper but they come from streets that Davis knows. And at the heart of every person he paints, there is a lifetime of making friends and reading people from every walk of life and many different cultures. 

Biographical Information

      Davis W. Morton IV spent his childhood in Bronxville, New York and in Chevy Chase, Maryland. He went to private boarding schools in New York and in Towson, Maryland until getting married at the age of sixteen. At that time Morton started painting seriously, working full time, and going to high school then college at night.
     Of the twenty years he spent as a policeman in Montgomery County, Maryland, Morton was a Detective for fourteen years working in the homicide, sex and robbery sections. He worked several years undercover and was also the Police Artist for eighteen years.
     By 1989 Morton had created more composite drawings of criminals than any other known Composite Artist in the United States. Two of his articles about the use of a composite drawing as an investigative tool were published in The Police Chief Magazine and in Law and Order Magazine.
     Since the early 1990's Morton has been able to devote all of his time to painting as his sole career.

Education

      Due to early responsibilities, Morton was unable to attend art school.  Other than one anatomy course, taken from Frank Wright at George Washington University, Morton is a self-taught artist.  He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature from the University of Maryland.
     Since 1975 he has traveled yearly to visit the galleries and museums of Europe, Asia, South America and Africa to further his education.

 Galleries / Affiliations / Exhibitions  (partial listing)

     Presently, Morton is represented by the Zenith Gallery in Washington, DC. and Main Street Gallery in Annapolis, MD