Kenn Davis (1932–2010) was an American surrealist painter and mystery novel writer. During the 1950s and 1960s he was associated with the

Beat Generation The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatio ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's North Beach.

Life and education

Kenn Davis was born as Kenneth Allan Schmoker in

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

. After his parents divorced, he moved at age 5 with his mother and younger brother (born Marvin Schmoker) to San Francisco. He attended grammar school in San Francisco. He went to finger painting and drawing classes on Saturdays at the San Francisco Museum of Art, today's

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

. At the beginning of WWII, age 10, Kenn and his brother attended a Catholic boy's boarding school in Marin County across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. At the end of the war, Kenn and his brother Marvin moved back to their mother and step father, Henry Davis, who bought Kenn his first easel. Kenn changed his surname to his step father's name. (His brother changed his name to

Zekial Marko Zekial Marko (October 21, 1933 – May 9, 2008) was an American writer who specialised in crime stories, often under the pen name of John Trinian. He was arrested during filming of ''Once a Thief'' and spent some time in prison. He died of complic ...

and became a mystery author under the name of John Trinian.) Kenn attended

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a State school#United States, public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local ...

before being drafted into the Korean War in 1952. He left the military in 1954 and returned to study art at the City College of San Francisco. In 1956 he transferred to the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

. In 1964, he was hired by the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

as photo retoucher and illustrator, a position from which he resigned in 1984.

Friendship with Richard Brautigan

Davis and Marko were close friends of author

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935 – c. September 16, 1984) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. A prolific writer, he wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four bo ...

, whom Kenn met in 1956 or 1957. Kenn designed the covers for two of Brautigan's poetry collections, '' The Galilee Hitch-Hiker'' (1958) and ''

Lay the Marble Tea ''Lay the Marble Tea'' is a 1959 poetry collection by American writer Richard Brautigan. It is Brautigan's first collection and third poetry publication. It was published by Carp Press, the name of the self-publishing project of Brautigan and his ...

'' (1959). He also frequently sketched him together with others of the North Beach Beat scene. In 1959, Kenn Davis painted a portrait of Richard Brautigan in oil on linen, which also appeared on the cover on a collection of essays on Brautigan edited by John Barber. This book also contains many sketches by Kenn Davis.

Works

Paintings

Davis was mostly a surrealist. Some of his paintings reflect a critical analysis of society while others show an introspection of human psychology. Some paintings still draw on material reality and thus could be classified under magic realism. The style of his surrealistic paintings show the influence of European surrealists like

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (, ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch/Netherlandish painter from Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, generally oil on oa ...

. His earlier paintings of the 1950s and 1960s are darker both in color schemes and mood than his later paintings. The technique of his oil paintings at the end of the 1950s and early 1960s show the influence of old masters. His later paintings often include a humorous or satirical detail. Kenn Davis first solo exhibition was at the Studio 44 Gallery in San Francisco in 1956. Davis' paintings were displayed at the Coffee Gallery in San Francisco. Davis designed the book covers of

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

's ''Lost in Time and Space with Lefty Feep'', edited by John Stanley, 1987, Creatures at Large Press, as well as ''

Creature Features ''Creature Features'' is a generic title for a genre of horror TV format shows broadcast on local American television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The movies broadcast on these shows were generally classic and cult horror ...

Strikes Again Movie Guide'' and ''Revenge of the

Movie Guide'', both by John Stanley.

Selection of Paintings

* 1954 - ''Point of View'', oil on linen, 24" x 28", private collection * 1957 - ''Impression of Actor

Ben Gazzara Biagio Anthony Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nominatio ...

'', ink on canvas, private collection * 1959 - ''

as a Young Poet'', oil on linen, 32" x 20", private collection * 1960 - ''Family Dynamics'', oil on linen, 22.5" x 28" * 1961 - ''A Man Possessed'', oil on linen, 52" x 34", private collection * 1965 - ''Procedure for Inaugural Hopes'', oil on linen, 28" x 22", private collection Germany * 1980 - ''The Retention Of Mnemonic Skies'', oil on linen, 34" x 44", private collection * 1985 - ''Re-entry of Icarus'', oil on linen, 49" x 49", private collection * 1986 - ''New York, New York'', oil on linen, 72" x 60", Hotel Wales, New York City * 1990 - ''A Communique from Bomber Command'', oil on linen, shaped canvas, 54" horizontally, private collection * 1990 - ''No Energy'', oil on linen, 10" x 14", private collection * 1990 - ''The Nodal Point of Achievement'', oil on linen, 28" x 42" * 1993 - ''Spectre of Cancelled Gnostics'', oil on linen, 36" x 45" * 1995 - ''The Macro of Disobedience'', oil on linen, 54" x 36", private collection * 1999 - ''Landing in a Degraded World'', oil on linen, 38" x 34" * 2003 - ''The Loneliness of Noble Nutrients'', oil on linen, 35" x 48" * 2004 - ''A Progression of Morandi's Premise'', oil on linen, 30" x 48", private collection * 2004 - ''A Dwelling out of the Classifieds'', oil on linen, 12" x 9", private collection * 2008 - ''Rendition for an Acceptable Response'', oil on linen, 28" x 42" * 2009 - ''In the Age of Microwaves'', oil on linen, 18.5" x 15.375" * 2009 - ''Polarization of Limited Space II'', oil on linen, 32" x 36", private collection * 2009 - ''The Terminus of Farce'', oil on linen, 37" x 43", irregular hexagonal-shaped canvas, private collection * 2009 - ''Ambition Thwarted by Indifference'', oil on linen, 36" x 28" * 2009 - ''The Needle in Monet's Haystack'', oil on linen, 22" x 32" * 2009 - ''A Climax of Containers'', oil on linen, 30" x 24" * 2010 - Untitled, unfinished, final painting, oil on linen, 46" x 36", private collection

Books

Kenn Davis (together with John Stanley) is the creator of Carver Bascombe, a black Vietnam veteran with a military police background who is a private investigator in San Francisco. This character first appeared in 1976 in the mystery novel ''The Dark Side'' that Kenn coauthored with John Stanley. Carver Bascombe appears in seven more mystery novels. Kenn Davis was an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

Nominee twice, once in 1977 for ''The Dark Side'' (with John Stanley) and again in 1985 for ''Words Can Kill''. * Outside, (vi) Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine. Feb 1979

List of Books

* 1976 - ''The Dark Side'' (with John Stanley), Avon 30957 * 1979 - ''The Forza Trap'', Avon 44552 * 1980 - ''Bogart '48'' (with John Stanley),

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

10853 * 1981 - ''Dead to Rights'', Avon 78295 * 1984 - ''Words Can Kill'',

Gold Medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

12667 * 1986 - ''Melting Point'', Gold Medal 12901 * 1987 - ''Nijinsky Is Dead'', Gold Medal 13096 * 1987 - ''As October Dies'', Gold Medal 13097 * 1989 - ''Acts of Homicide'', Gold Medal 13351 * 1990 - ''Blood of Poets'', Gold Medal 13352

Film

* 1978 - ''

Nightmare in Blood ''Nightmare in Blood'' is a 1978 American horror film directed by professional late night television horror movie host, and writer, John Stanley. Plot Attendees at a horror-film convention in San Francisco keep disappearing. It turns out that the ...

'' (co-written and co-produced with John Stanley)

References

External links

Kenn Davis, American Surrealist (1932-2010)

Kenn Davis Memorial Blog

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Kenn 1932 births Painters from California City College of San Francisco alumni 20th-century American painters American male painters San Francisco Chronicle people San Francisco Art Institute alumni Beat Generation people 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists People from San Francisco American surrealist artists American mystery writers 2010 deaths Writers from San Francisco American male novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California 20th-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 20th-century American male artists