Nora Davison was a watercolourist who is best known for her paintings of Eton, 13 of which are in the Eton College collection, as well as shipping and coastal scenes. She is said to have been referred to as 'our sitting member' in the Eton College Chronicle, and when reporting on Davison's move from the area to Worcester on 16 January, 1935, the Daily Mirror wrote that 'she has painted Eton College and Winsdor Castle from every angle'. An exhibition of watercolours by Davison depicting Eton houses was held at Spottiswoode's Library in Eton in December 1915.
She was a member of the Dudley Art Society and exhibited in London between 1881 and 1893, including 20 works at the Society of British Artists, 2 at the New Water-colour Society, 5 at the Grosvenor Gallery, and 10 at the New Gallery. She was also an illustator for magazines, including the ladies' weekly journal Hearth and Home. Paintings by Davison were admired and purchased by the Royal Family – an article in Art Notes, published on 31 October, 1894, commented:
'There is, at all events, one artist in the country who has faith in the much-talked-of Royal taste for painting. Miss Nora Davison, the daughter of a Birmingham clergyman, exhibited at the recent Art Exhibition at Ryde, a picture which attracted the attention of Princess Henry of Battenberg. The Princess purchased it, and was so pleased with the quality of Miss Davison's work, that she requested her to send her portfolio to Osborne for inspection. The Queen herself looked over it, and has since purchased three of Miss Davison's works'.