author
Francis Davis Millet
1846–1912
A painter, writer, and war correspondent with an unusually wide-ranging life, he moved easily between art studios, newsrooms, and public service. His story is also tied to one of history’s most famous tragedies: he died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912.
3 Audiobooks
The Danube from the Black Forest to the Black Sea
by Francis Davis Millet
Some Artists at the Fair
by Francis Davis Millet, W. Hamilton (William Hamilton) Gibson, Will H. (Will Hicok) Low, John Ames Mitchell, Francis Hopkinson Smith
A Capillary Crime, and Other Stories
by Francis Davis Millet
About the author
Born in Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, Francis Davis Millet built a career that reached far beyond painting alone. He served during the Civil War as a drummer boy and surgical assistant, later studied at Harvard, and went on to work as a journalist as well as an artist.
Millet became known as an American painter, sculptor, and writer, with a reputation for murals, illustrations, and polished academic-style work. He also reported on the Russo-Turkish War and took on important arts-administration roles, including work connected with major public art and cultural institutions in the United States and abroad.
His life ended suddenly on April 15, 1912, when he died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic. That dramatic ending has kept his name in public memory, but his lasting importance comes from the unusual breadth of his career and the energy he brought to both art and letters.