Born at Watford, son of another Richard Davis (1750-1825) who was huntsman to George III's private harriers. One of nine children, Richard Junior was also the brother of W.H. Davis and Charles Davis the famous huntsman to the Royal Buckhounds who was so highly thought of both as a rider and a huntsman. Davis spent most of his life at Windsor; it was George III who first saw his work and arranged for him to be placed under Sir Francis Bourgeois. He also studied under William Evans at Eton, Sir William Beechey and at the RA schools, although he was never registered as a student. He first exhibited at the Rain 1802 and although he was an exhibitor for fifty years he was, like Chalon, never elected to ARA but, like him, also had a successful career. In 1829 Davis became a member of the Suffolk Street Academy Society and in 1831 was appointed animal painter to William IV. In this year he painted an enormous frieze of William IV's coronation procession which was 1,540 inches long. It is interesting to note that in 1827 the same year as Agasse, he too painted the Nubian Giraffe for George IV. George III and Queen Victoria were both patrons and for the latter he painted three of her favourite horses. A painter of landscapes and shooting scenes as well as horses, Davis has thirty plates published in The Sporting Magazine. A number of his works were reproduced as prints, but he was probably the first artist to produce a series of prints of different hunts. Coming from so famous a hunting family he had many opportunities to follow hounds on foot and had a thorough knowledge of the subject. In 1836 he produced the first four prints in his 'Hunter's Annual' series. Each picture depicted a huntsman and hounds of a different pack. In 1839 and 1841 he produced further sets of four to complete series of twelve. This was an idea not really followed seriously until G.D. Giles but frequently used by modern artists, most notably Alain, Edwards and King. Davis' work is variable, at best it is outstanding, strong and well finished, and his horses and hounds both delightfully painted. His hound portraitures really superb. One might describe his horses as a cross between Ferneley Senior and Chalon.