Daugherty was of the first generation of Americans that explored modern art having learned first hand from Robert Daulaney c. 1911-1912 in Paris. There he participated along with Morgan Russell he participated in the development of Synchromism a color dynamic which used color to describe space and form. Later back in America Daugherty moved to Weston, CT developed a figuative style reminencent of Thomas Hart Benton. He used this style in the commission of many important murals, and thus became known as a muralist. Late in his career he went back to a synchromist inspired style of non represenation closely associated to Abstract Expressionism. Since his death in 1974 his late abstract works have gained much respect for their integrity and first hand connection to the earliest notions of modern art.