Jack Smith (artist)
Jack Smith | |
---|---|
Born | 18 June 1928 |
Died | 11 June 2011 (aged 82) |
Nationality | British |
Education | Sheffield College of Art, Saint Martin's School of Art, Royal College of Art |
Known for | painting |
Movement | Neo-realism, Abstract art |
Jack Smith (18 June 1928 – 11 June 2011) was a British realist and, later, abstract artist.[2]
Life
[edit]Jack Smith was born in 1928 in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
Smith studied at Sheffield College of Art (1944–1946), Saint Martin's School of Art (1948–1950) and the Royal College of Art (1950–1953).[3] At the RCA, Smith studied under John Minton, Ruskin Spear and Carel Weight.[4]
Work
[edit]During the 1950s, Smith's early work was in a neo-realist style known as "The Kitchen Sink School" featuring domestic subjects.
In the 1960s, Smith abandoned realism and adopted a brightly coloured, abstract style comparable to those of Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian incorporating Constructivism and Biomorphism with elements of hieroglyphic and musical notation.[5] Smith continued to develop and work in this style and did not return to realism.
Recognition
[edit]- First prize at the first John Moores Liverpool Exhibition (1956) [6]
- Shown at Venice Biennale (1956)
- Retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery (1959)[7]
- National Prize at Guggenheim International Awards
- Touring Retrospective organised by Sunderland Arts Centre (1977)
- 80th Birthday Retrospective at the Flowers East gallery (2008)[3]
- The National Portrait Gallery, London held an exhibition of his work, 'Jack Smith: Abstract Portraits' (2015) [8] and holds several portraits of him in its collection.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ "Obituaries - Jack Smith: Painter who rejected his work as part of the 'Kitchen Sink School' in favour of abstraction". The Independent. 23 June 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
- ^ "Jack Smith obituary". The Guardian. 17 June 2011. Archived from the original on 30 October 2022.
- ^ a b Flowers London: Jack Smith Retrospective Catalogue, ISBN 978-1-906412-12-8
- ^ Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery: Biography for Jack Smith
- ^ British Council: Jack Smith Archived 2009-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ John Moores Prize Archived 2009-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Tate Collection: Jack Smith Biography
- ^ "Jack Smith: Abstract Portraits". National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
- ^ "Jack Smith - Person - National Portrait Gallery". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 20 November 2020.
External links
[edit]- 56 artworks by or after Jack Smith at the Art UK site
- Works in the Tate collection
- 80th Birthday Retrospective
- Obituary of Jack Smith, The Daily Telegraph, 20 June, 2011