Davis Francis Schwartz was born in Paris, Kentucky in 1879.  He studied at the Chicago Art Institute, 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 Board of Harbor Commissioners .  He established a studio in the Ferry Building and for 30 years acted as custodian of the huge relief map of the State of California there.
 
During the 1940s he 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.