Sam Smith (painter)
Sam Smith | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sam Smith | |
| Born | Samuel David Smith 11 February 1918 |
| Died | 23 May 1999 (aged 81) |
| Resting place | Navajo Lake, NM |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Painting, Drawing, Sculpture, Printmaking, Gun engraving |
| Spouse(s) | Harriette Holley Hening (1948–74), Elizabeth Childers Black (1978-99) |
Samuel David Smith (born Thorndale, Texas, on February 11, 1918 — May 23, 1999)[1] was an American artist.
Early life
He was born February 11, 1918, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1925. Sam Smith attended Albuquerque High School, but dropped out in the tenth grade at the age of 13 to apprentice himself to various New Mexico artists such as Randall Davey, Fletcher Martin, Nicolai Fechin and Carl Von Hassler.[2]
Combat artist
C-47 crew that was forced to bail out over South China. Rescued by local villagers, he was given shelter and secretly transported out of hostile territory. The governor of Liping County of Guizhou provided him with a document which the artist said helped him obtain assistance in reaching allied forces
.
Driving armored vehicles for a long distance to
The Republic of China
-
Smith kept this framed document on the wall of his Albuquerque studio throughout his career. -
Technical Sergeant Sam Smith
.jpg)
Post War work
Sam Smith returned to New Mexico after the war and in March, 1948 he married Harriette Holley Hening, the daughter of Horace Brand Hening, a
watercolor and oil painting until his retirement in 1986. Sam and Holley had three children, all born in April, three years apart: Cézanne, Rembrandt and Michelangelo. In 1962 Smith purchased a home at 432 West Colorado Ave. in Telluride, Colorado. At that time Telluride was, for the most part, a ghost town with Idarado Mining Company the only significant employer. The Smith family spent summers there and wintered over during a sabbatical the Artist took in 1963. Unfortunately, his wife Holley was plagued throughout her life by mental instability and depression. In 1974 she took her own life.[8] Sam married Elizabeth Childers Black on May 31, 1978. He sold his home in New Mexico and moved with Elizabeth to Colorado. They spent winters in Telluride and summers on a houseboat on Navajo Lake near Bloomfield, NM
.
A Sam Smith Retrospective show was held in the fall of 1986 at the University of New Mexico Fine Arts Center in Albuquerque, NM.
In June, 1995 the Department of Defense 50th Anniversary of World War II Commemoration Committee honored the combat art of Smith and his fellow veteran artists with an exhibition held at the National Building Museum in
Washington, DC.[9] Featured works powerfully illustrate various aspects of World War II, ranging from battle scenes to the everyday lives of military men and women. The Department of the Air Force Art Collection holds 13 of his works within their physical and online collection[10]
Smith's paintings have been exhibited at the
Arlington State College in Texas, and the New Mexico State Fair Collection. His awards include the 1960 Oil Purchase Prize at the New Mexico State Fair, the Questa Purchase Prize in 1962, the Grand Award Prize at the Artist's Alpine Holiday Show in 1964 and 1965 and the Grand Award at the Black Canyon Art Exhibition in Hotchkiss, Colorado.[11]
Notable students of Sam Smith include the artists Dennis Liberty, Elaine Amsterdam Farley and Nick Abdalla.
References
- ^ State of Texas Birth Certificate
- ^ "Autumn Mountain Scene by Sam Smith". Adobe Gallery. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ A Camera trip Through Camp Barkeley Texas, (A Picture Book of the Camp and its Activities). US Government.
- ^ Aviation Safety Network, Crash Data for C-47(DC-4) Registration Number 42-92044, Friday 8 December 1944. Flight Safety Foundation.
- ^ "Obituary for Smith". Albuquerque Journal. May 30, 1999. Retrieved September 9, 2012.
- ^ "THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO, FACULTY LIST". Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- ^ "Smith, Samuel D". Artists. United States Air Force Art Collection. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ "Deaths and Funerals". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA: 82. April 11, 1974. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
- ^ "IN RECOGNITION OF WORLD WAR II VETERANS WHO SERVED AS COMBAT ARTISTS: DoD 50th Anniversary of WWII". the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]. Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 106 (Tuesday, June 27, 1995). Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ "The United States Air Force Art Collection, Artist: Smith, Samuel D". www.afapo.hq.af.mil. Archived from the original on 30 Jan 2021. Retrieved 2024-01-12.
- LCCN 86071453.
Further reading
- Art and Artists of New Mexico, New Mexico Magazine, December 1957, by Ina Sizer Cassidy
- UNM Prof Demonstrates his Art, Albuquerque Journal, Journal of the Arts, Sunday, October 31, 1971, by Flo Wilks
- The Cowboy's Christmas Tree, 1956 by Eddy, Effie Paige, Illustrated by Sam Smith[1]
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- ^ "Abe Books Catalog Entry for 'The Cowboy's Christmas Tree'". Retrieved 22 May 2018.