A specialist in naval illustration, Julian Davidson was extremely valuable to the editors of The Century magazine during the Civil War to depict naval action. He reconstructed his illustrations from eyewitness accounts and quick on-the-site sketches, and many of his works were reproduced in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War and Harper's Weekly. 

He was born in Cumberland, Maryland and studied with Maurice de Haas, a marine painter. He regularly exhibited at the National Academy of Design and the Salmagundi Club. He had his studio at the Nyack Boat Club and was a champion-class sculler.