Alfred Smith (1854–1932) was a French artist from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

who painted in the

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

post-impressionist Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction ag ...

and

fauvist Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

style. Some of his works resemble the early works of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

Biography

Smith was born in Bordeaux in 1854 to a father of Welsh origin and a mother from Bordeaux. He joined a circle of local landscape artists who followed

Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

and

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly th ...

. Smith studied with

Hippolyte Pradelles Justin Jean-Baptiste Hippolyte Pradelles (29 March 1824 – 6 January 1913) was a French landscape painter. Initially working as a draughtsman and watercolourist, Pradelles later moved into painting, principally producing regional landscapes but ...

(1876), Léonce Chabry (1880) and Amadeus Baudit (1884). The distinguished artist

Alfred Philippe Roll Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

noticed Smith and helped to promote his work. He exhibited in the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

in Paris in 1880, earning an honorable mention. In 1883 his painting ''Le quai de Bacalan le soir'' was exhibited at the Salon. In the 1880s he became the new leader of the Bordeaux school, displacing Louis Auguin. However, with no need to earn a living he did not fully devote himself to painting until 1886. In 1888 he was given a third class medal at the

Salon des Artistes français The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

, and in 1889 a bronze medal. In 1894 he was named a chevalier of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

. Smith won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. He exhibited regularly at French salons into the 1920s, and many of his works are held in French and Italian museums. Smith was distinguished for the atmospheric evocation of the woods, gardens and cityscapes, with a subtle and nuanced palette. He painted scenes from Bordeaux, Paris and Venice before discovering the

Creuse Creuse (; oc, Cruesa or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the eas ...

valley. As Smith's style matured he adapted a brighter palette, displayed in his landscapes of the Creuse valley. He has been called a member of the

Crozant School The Crozant School (French: ''École de Crozant'') is named after Crozant, a Communes of France, Commune of France at the northern limit of the department of Creuse. It consists of a host of landscape painters who worked from 1830 to 1950 on the ba ...

, a broad collection of artists who painted nature around this village of the Creuse valley. He died in Paris in 1936.

Works

''Les Quais de Bordeaux, Le Soir'' (1892) was exhibited at the Société des Amis des Arts, where it was purchased by the town and is now in the collection of the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux is the fine arts museum of the city of Bordeaux, France. The museum is housed in a dependency of the Palais Rohan in central Bordeaux. Its collections include paintings, sculptures and drawings from the 15t ...

. It was hailed as the best painting of the exhibition. The

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

has three of his works: ''Sous-Bois'' (1891), ''Harmonie d'été'' (1911) and ''Portrait de la mère de l'artiste'' (undated). The

Telfair Museum of Art Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia Histo ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

owns the 1903 ''Le déjeuner sous les bois (Luncheon Under the Trees)''. Paintings in private collections include: *1884 After the rain, oil on canvas *1889 Boat Trip, oil on canvas *1890 L'aquarelliste, oil on canvas

Gallery

File:Alfred Smith - Tramway devant les Quinconces par temps de pluie.jpg, Tramway devant les Quinconces par temps de pluie 1880 File:Smith Alfred - Brouillard à Bordeaux.jpg, Brouillard à Bordeaux, 1880 File:Smith Alfred - Boat trip (1889).jpg, Boat trip, 1889 File:Alfred Smith - Matinée d'hiver, place Pey Berland à Bordeaux.jpg, Matinée d'hiver, place Pey Berland à Bordeaux, before 1893 File:Alfred Smith - Déjeuner sous les bois (c 1895).jpg, Déjeuner sous les bois, before 1895 File:Alfred Smith - Les quais de Bordeaux, le matin.jpg, Les quais de Bordeaux, le matin, 1895 File:Smith Alfred - Harmonie d'été.jpg, Harmonie d'été, 1899 File:Smith Alfred - Le père Boyreau au printemps.jpg, Le père Boyreau au printemps, c. 1900 File:Smith Alfred - La meule.jpg, La meule, 1900 File:Smith Alfred - Quai de la Grave Bordeaux.jpg, Quai de la Grave Bordeaux, c. 1900 File:Smith Alfred - Jeune fille lisant (c 1910).jpg, Jeune fille lisant, 1910 File:Smith Alfred - Bords de la Creuse, Automne.jpg, Bords de la Creuse, Automne, c. 1920 File:Smith Alfred - Crozant La Sédelle en octobre (c 1923).jpg, Crozant La Sédelle en octobre, c. 1923

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Alfred 1854 births 1932 deaths French Impressionist painters

Biography

Works

Gallery

Further reading

References