Davis served on the board of the San Francisco Art Association from 1900 , and then as president beginning in 1902 . He was serving as president when the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art was destroyed by the catastrophic fire following the 1906 San Francisco earthquake . All of the Institute 's records and many of its works of art were lost . Davis reported that the loss represented about $ 2 million from the original construction of the building as a grand residence for railroad magnate Mark Hopkins Jr , augmented by about $ 400,000 spent turning the mansion into an art school , plus an estimated $ 173,000 in lost artwork and other contents of the building . Davis quickly established a temporary office in Lower Pacific Heights near his own home , and he began the process of rallying support to finance the rebuilding of the Institute . Davis spent the summer of 1906 resting at the Tahoe Tavern hotel and sketching in the Lake Tahoe area
1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Willis E. Davis (painter)