Ulysses Davis began sculpting as a youngster—whittling was his word for it. Davis always referred to himself as a whittler, never as a sculptor nor artist. “I am not an artist,” he would say, “because I can’t draw.” A modest statement from a modest man who qualifies as a whittler and sculptor. The Davis Collection, is housed at the Beach Institute's John B. & Mozelle D. Clemmons Galleries . The collection, consisting of more than 240 sculptures, is the work of a genius of the first degree with wood sculpture & design. Self-taught, he learned to master the tools of his trade. His background as a railroad blacksmith's assistant enabled him to make the tools he later used in woodcarving.

The Davis Collection works are also displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA.