José David grew up in Almeirim, a town north east of Lisbon in Portugal. An orphan of peasant stock, he had to earn his living from a very young age. At fifteen he found himself alone in Lisbon, where he worked as a bookshop assistant, a waiter, and a factory worker. Irresistibly drawn to art, he spent his free time painting and drawing while attending classes at the Sociedad Nacional de Belas Artes (National Academy of Fine Arts). From the age of eighteen he was able to devote himself entirely to graphic arts.

In the 1950s he spent several years in the Far East, where he where he exhibited successfully and was clearly influenced by Japanese art. He returned to Paris in 1959, where several publishers were interested in his original talent and commissioned illustrations from him, including commissions for several novels by the Egyptian-French author Andrée Chédid.

José David’s work is characterised by a subtlety and sensitivity of line, as well as a rare concern for composition. The poetic atmosphere emanating from his collages, watercolours and ink drawings is ideally suited to the spirit of the eighteenth century while at the same time retaining his own personal modern touch.