Bill Davenport’s book paintings are representational works from his ephemera collections and personal mementos, often ranging stylistically according to the material's content. Realism in Literature and Art by Clarence Darrow is a work published in 1903 that critically emphasizes the concept of realism over romantic representations of human life. In the artist’s humorous style, he reproduces the monotonous design of the book along with the complexion of time the book has been graced by since it first landed in his collection. Many of Davenport’s book paintings provide an experimental function of space like trompe l’oeil, as the viewer is allowed a witty glimpse into Davenport’s regard for his found items and the nostalgia that saturates them.