John Edward McKenzie Lucie-Smith (born 27 February 1933), known as Edward Lucie-Smith, is a Jamaican-born English writer, poet, art critic, curator and broadcaster. He has been highly prolific in these fields, writing or editing over a hundred books, his subjects gradually shifting around the late 1960s from mostly literature to mostly art.

Biography

Lucie-Smith was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

, the son of Mary Frances (née Lushington) and John Dudley Lucie-Smith. He moved to the United Kingdom in 1946.Biograph
Retrieved 4 October 2018.
/ref> He was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

, and, after a little time in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he read history at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...

, from 1951 to 1954. After serving in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

as an education officer and working as a copywriter, he became a full-time writer (as well as anthologist and photographer). He succeeded

Philip Hobsbaum Philip Dennis Hobsbaum (29 June 1932 – 28 June 2005) was a British teacher, poet and critic. Life Hobsbaum was born into a Polish Jewish family in London, and brought up in Bradford, Yorkshire, where he attended Belle Vue Boys' Grammar Sc ...

in organising

The Group The Group may refer to: Film and television * ''The Group'' (Australian TV series), 1971 situation comedy produced by Cash Harmon Television for ATN7 * ''The Group'' (Canadian TV series), 1968–70 music variety on CBC Television * ''The Group ...

, a London-centred poets' group. At the beginning of the 1980s he conducted several series of interviews, ''Conversations with Artists'', for

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

. He was a contributor to ''

The London Magazine ''The London Magazine'' is the title of six different publications that have appeared in succession since 1732. All six have focused on the arts, literature and miscellaneous topics. 1732–1785 ''The London Magazine, or, Gentleman's Monthly I ...

'', in which he wrote art reviews, and wrote regularly for the independent magazine ''

ArtReview ''ArtReview'' is an international contemporary art magazine based in London, founded in 1948. Its sister publication, ''ArtReview Asia'', was established in 2013. History Launched as a fortnightly broadsheet in February 1949 by a retired country ...

'' from the 1960s until the 2000s. A prolific writer, he has written more than one hundred books in total on a variety of subjects, chiefly art history as well as biographies and poetry. In addition he has curated a number of art exhibitions, including three Peter Moores projects at the

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History of the Gallery The Walker Art Gallery's collection ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

; the New British Painting (1988–90) and two retrospectives at the

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...

. He is a curator of the

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

Project Space. In recent years Edward Lucie-Smith has been promoting drawings attributed to Francis Bacon owned by Italian journalist Cristiano Lovatelli Ravarino. However, Christie's, Sotheby's and the Francis Bacon Estate have not authenticated these works known as the 'Francis Bacon Italian Drawings'. Martin Harrison, the editor of the Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonné, does not include 'The Francis Bacon Italian Drawings' and does not see the hand of Bacon in these drawings. His uncle

Euan Lucie-Smith Euan Lucie-Smith (14 December 1889 – 25 April 1915) was a British Army second lieutenant of World War I, of mixed British and Afro-Caribbean descent. He was one of the first mixed-heritage infantry officers in a regular British Army regiment, ...

was one of the first mixed-heritage infantry officers in a regular British Army regiment, and the first killed in World War I.

Bibliography

Poetry and fiction

* *''A Tropical Childhood and Other Poems'' (1961) *''Confessions & Histories'' (1964) *''Penguin Modern Poets 6'' (1964; with

Jack Clemo Reginald John Clemo (11 March 1916 – 25 July 1994) was a British poet and writer who was strongly associated both with his native Cornwall and his strong Christian belief. His work was considered to be visionary and inspired by the rugged Corn ...

and

George MacBeth George Mann MacBeth (19 January 1932 – 16 February 1992) was a Scottish poet and novelist. Biography George MacBeth was born in Shotts, Lanarkshire, Scotland. When he was three, his family moved to Sheffield in England. He was educated in Sh ...

) *''A Game of French and English'' (1965) poems *''Jazz for the N.U.F.'' (1965) *''Mystery in the Universe: Notes on An Interview with

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

'' (1965) *''The Penguin Book of Elizabethan Verse'' (1965), editor *''A Choice of Browning's Verse'' (1967) *''Five Great Odes by

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

'' (1967), translator *''Borrowed Emblems'' (1967) *''Jonah: Selected Poems of Jean-Paul de Dadelsen'' (1967), translator *''Silence'' (1967), poetry *''The Penguin Book of Satirical Verse'' (1967), editor *''The Little Press Movement in England and America'' (1968) *''More Beasts for

Guillaume Apollinaire Guillaume Apollinaire) of the Wąż coat of arms. (; 26 August 1880 – 9 November 1918) was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic of Polish descent. Apollinaire is considered one of the foremost poets of the ...

'' (1968) *''Snow Poem'' (1968) *''Towards Silence'' (1968) *''Egyptian Ode'' (1969) *''Holding Your Eight Hands'' (1969; science fiction verse anthology), editor *''Six Kinds of Creature'' (1969) *''Six More Beasts'' (1970) *''

British Poetry since 1945 ''British Poetry since 1945'' is a poetry anthology edited by Edward Lucie-Smith, first published in 1970 by Penguin Books. The anthology is a careful attempt to take account of the whole span of post-war British poetryMiddleton, Peter (2004"The ...

'' (1970 anthology), editor *''The Rhino'' (1971) with

Ralph Steadman Ralph Idris Steadman (born 15 May 1936) is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture b ...

*''A Garland from the Greek'' (1971) *''French Poetry Today: a bilingual anthology'' (1971; co-editor, with Simon Watson Taylor) *''Primer of Experimental Poetry 1, 1870–1922. Volume I'' (1971) editor *''Two Poems of the Night'' (1972; with

) *''The Well-Wishers'' (1974) *''The Dark Pageant'' (1977) *''One Man Show'' (1981), with

Beryl Cook Beryl Cook, OBE (10 September 192628 May 2008) was a British artist best known for her original and instantly recognisable paintings. Often comical, her works pictured people whom she encountered in everyday life, including people enjoying th ...

*''Private View'' (1981), with Beryl Cook *''Bertie and the Big Red Ball'' (1982; with Beryl Cook) *''Beasts with Bad Morals'' (1984) *''Poems for Clocks'' (1986) *''The lesson'' (2001) *''Changing Shape: New and Selected Poems'' (2002)

Non-fiction

1960–1979

*''

Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...

'' (1961) *''What Is a Painting?'' (1966) *''Liverpool Scene: Recorded Live along the Mersey Beat'' (1967) editor *''Sergei De Diaghileff (1929)'' (1968) with Anthony Howell *''Thinking about Art: Critical Essays'' (1968) *''Movements in Art since 1945'' (1969) *''Art in Britain 1969–70'' (1970) with Patricia White *''A Concise History of French Painting'' (1971) *''Eroticism in Western Art'' (1972; revised as ''Sexuality in Western Art'', 1991) *''Symbolist Art'' (1972) *''Movements in Modern Art'' (1973; with Donald Carroll) *''The First London Catalogue'' (1974) *''Late Modern: The Visual Arts Since 1945'' (1975) *''The Invented Eye: Masterpieces of Photography, 1839–1914'' (1975) *''The Waking Dream Fantasy and the Surreal in Graphic Art 1450–1900'' (1975; with Aline Jacquot) *''The Burnt Child: An Autobiography'' (1975) *''World of the Makers: Today's Master Craftsmen and Craftswomen'' (1975) *''How the Rich Lived: The Painter as Witness 1870–1914'' (1976; with Celestine Dars) *''Fantin-Latour'' (1977) *''Art Today: From Abstract Expressionism to Superrealism'' (1977) *''Joan of Arc'' (1977) *''Toulouse-Lautrec'' (1977) *''Work and Struggle: The Painter as Witness, 1870–1914'' (1977; with Celestine Dars) *''Outcasts of the Sea: Pirates and Piracy'' (1978) *''A Concise History of Furniture'' (1979) *''A Cultural Calendar of the 20th Century'' (1979) *''Super Realism'' (1979)

1980–1999

*''Art in the Seventies'' (1980) *''The Story of Craft: The Craftsman's Role in Society'' (Phaidon, Oxford, 1981; ) *''The Art of Caricature'' (1981) *''The Body Images of the Nude'' (1981) *''The Sculpture of Helaine Blumenfeld'' (1982) *''A History of Industrial Design'' (1983) *''The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms'' (1984) *''Nudes and Flowers: 40 Watercolours by David Hutter'' (1984) *''Steve Hawley'' (1984) *''Art of the 1930s: The Age of Anxiety'' (1985) *''American Art Now'' (1985) *''Lives of the Great Twentieth Century Artists'' (1985) *''The Male Nude: A Modern View'' (1985; with François De Louville; the book features Hockney, Kitaj &

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada *Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village *Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton *Shaw, Swindon, a List of United Kingdom ...

), et al.) *''Michael Leonard: Paintings'' (1985; with

Lincoln Kirstein Lincoln Edward Kirstein (May 4, 1907 – January 5, 1996) was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, philanthropist, and cultural figure in New York City, noted especially as co-founder of the New York City Ballet. He developed and sus ...

) *''American Craft Today: Poetry of the Physical'' (1986; with Paul J. Smith) *''Sculpture Since 1945'' (1987) *''The Self Portrait: A Modern View'' (1987; with Sean Kelly) *''The New British Painting'' (1988; with Carolyn Cohen and Judith Higgins) *''The Essential Osbert Lancaster: An Anthology in Brush and Pen'' (1988) editor *''Impressionist Women'' (1989) *''Art in the Eighties'' (1990) *''Art Deco Painting'' (1990) *''Fletcher Benton'' (1990; with Paul J. Karlstrom) *''Jean Rustin'' (1990) *''Harry Holland: The Painter and Reality'' (1991) *''Keith Vaughan 1912–1977: Drawings of the Young Male'' (1991) *'' Wendy Taylor'' (1992) *''Andres Nagel'' (1992) *''Alexander'' (1992) *''Art and Civilization'' (1992) *''The Faber Book of Art Anecdotes'' (1992), editor *'' Luis Caballero: Paintings & Drawings'' (1992) *''20th Century Latin American Art'' (1993) *''Edward Lucie-Smith on

Elizabeth Fritsch Elizabeth Fritsch CBE (born 1940) is a British studio potter and ceramic artist born into a Welsh family in Whitchurch on the Shropshire border. Her innovative hand built and painted pots are often influenced by ideas from music, painting, lite ...

: ''Vessels from another World, Metaphysical pots Painted Stoneware'', Bellew Publishing, (1993) *''British Art Now – A Personal View'' (1993; with

Zsuzsi Roboz Zsuzsi Roboz (15 August 1929 – 9 July 2012) was a London-based Hungarian painter known for her portraiture paintings and paintings of the arts. Her work is in public galleries including the Tate Britain and The National Portrait Gallery. E ...

and

Max Wykes-Joyce Max Wykes-Joyce (1924 in Worcestershire – 2002) was a British art and literary critic. Biography In the Second World War, Wykes-Joyce served in the Royal Air Force. He was a member of the International Association of Art Critics and worked ...

) *''Fritz Scholder, A Survey of Paintings 1970–1993'' (1993) *''Race, Sex and Gender in Contemporary Art: The Rise of Minority Culture'' (1994) *''Elisabeth Frink: A Portrait'' (1994) *''John Kirby: The Company of Strangers'' (1994) *''American Realism'' (1994) *''Art Today'' (1995) *''

Panayiotis Kalorkoti Panayiotis Kalorkoti (born 11 April 1957, Cyprus) is a British artist. He works primarily in acrylics and watercolour, and has also produced drawings, etchings, screenprints, lithographs and monotypes. His work is figurative and features bri ...

, Reflections of Grizedale (Acrylics, Watercolours, Etchings)'' (1995) *''Visual Arts in the 20th Century'' (1996) *''Leonardo Nierman: 1987–1994 Painting/Sculpture/Tapestry'' (1996) *''

Albert Paley Albert Paley (born 1944) is an American modernist metal sculptor. Initially starting out as a jeweler, Paley has become one of the most distinguished and influential metalsmiths in the world. Within each of his works, three foundational elements ...

'' (1996) *''Ars Erotica: An Arousing History of Erotic Art'' (1997) *''Dunbar Mining The Surfaces'' (1997) *''Glenys Barton'' (1997; with

Adrian Flowers Adrian John Flowers (11 July 1926 – 18 May 2016) was a British photographer known for his portraits of celebrities that included Twiggy, Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney and Vanessa Redgrave. Early life Flowers was educated at Sherborne School ...

and Robin Gibson) *''Impressionist Women: Reality Observed'' (1997) *''Adam: The Male Figure in Art'' (1998) *'' Chadwick'' (1998) *''Zoo: Animals in Art'' (1998) *''Lives of the Great 20th Century Artists'' (1999) *''Sean Henry – the Centre of the Universe'' (1999; with Beatrice F. Buscaroli) *''Women and Art: Contested Territory'' (1999), with

Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...

2000 to present

*''Judy Chicago: An American Vision'' (2000) *''Flesh and Stone'' (2000) *''Sergio Ceccotti'', Editions Lachenal & Ritter, Paris, 2001. *''Art Tomorrow'' (2002) *''Roberto Marquez'' (2002) *''David Remfry: Dancers'' (2003; with

Dore Ashton Dore Ashton (May 21, 1928 – January 30, 2017) was a writer, professor and critic on modern and contemporary art. Biography Ashton was born in Newark, New Jersey on May 21, 1928. She was the author or editor of more than thirty books on art, in ...

and

Carter Ratcliff Carter Ratcliff (born 1941 in Seattle, Washington) is an American art critic, writer and poet. His books on art include "John Singer Sargent" (Abbeville Press, 1982); "Robert Longo" ( Rizzoli, 1985); "The Fate of a Gesture: Jackson Pollock and Post ...

) *''Color of Time: The Photographs of Sean Scully'' (2004; with

Arthur C. Danto Arthur Coleman Danto (January 1, 1924 – October 25, 2013) was an American art critic, philosopher, and professor at Columbia University. He was best known for having been a long-time art critic for ''The Nation'' and for his work in philosophi ...

and Mia Fineman) *'' Censoring the Body'' (2007) () *''Byzantium & Beyond: The Paintings of Dave Pearson'' (2012; with Margaret Mytton) * *''Amazonia Imagined (2016) *''Pop Expressionism (2016) *''Steven Heffer; A Very British Modernist (2016) *''Painting with Both Hands (2017) *''New Dimensions in Art (2017)

References

External links

BiographyLibraryThing author profileLong interview, 2017Edward Lucie-Smith papers
at the

University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

*Materials related to Lucie-Smith can be found in the Turret Books records at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucie-Smith, Edward 1933 births Living people People from Kingston, Jamaica People educated at The King's School, Canterbury Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Writers from London British art critics British art historians British biographers British male poets British art curators John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature The London Magazine people Male biographers