Gladys Nelson Smith
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Gladys Nelson Smith (August 15, 1890 – September 15, 1980) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
painter. Born in either
El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...
or
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,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, Smith was one of ten children. She first studied art at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...
, from which she graduated in 1918. Her husband, Errett Smith, having been drafted, she relocated to
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to await his return. There she took lessons at the
Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...
. Further study came at the
Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
and at the
Corcoran School of Art The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, DC.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts and ...
, where her teachers included
Edmund C. Tarbell Edmund Charles Tarbell (April 26, 1862August 1, 1938) was an American Impressionist painter. A member of the Ten American Painters, his work hangs in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Smithson ...
and Richard Sumner Meryman, Sr. She remained in the
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
area for the rest of her life, taking classes at the Corcoran until 1930. During her career Smith exhibited with the
Society of Washington Artists The Society of Washington Artists was established in 1890 in Washington, D.C. The Society was organized by the ''Art Students League of Washington''. The Society's first exhibit was in 1891, held at the Woodward & Lothrop building. Within a few ...
and showed work at the Corcoran Biennials. At the Society's exhibitions of 1936 and 1939 she received popular prizes; in 1929 she received a bronze medal. She showed a number of works at the Greater Washington Independent Exhibition of 1935, and in 1939 was part of an exhibit with the Landscape Club of Washington. Solo exhibits of her paintings were held in 1979 and 1984–1985, the latter at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...
. In 1936 Smith and her husband purchased a farm near
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,
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as a weekend retreat, and this was to provide her the source from which she found much subject matter. They lived in
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beginning in 1949. Her husband died in 1974. Smith moved into a nursing home in
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, Maryland at the end of her life, and died there after a battle with
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
. She was survived by two sisters. Stylistically, Smith's work has been described as Impressionistic. An oil on canvas titled ''Studio Portrait of a Model (Reggio)'' from the second half of the 1920s is currently in the collection of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...
. An undated oil, ''Carnival Fantasy'', is owned by the
Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is an art museum beside the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., the United States. The museum was initially endowed during the 1960s with the permanent art collection of Joseph H. Hirshhorn. It was des ...
. ''The Tippler'', an oil of 1930–1940, is owned by the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
; it is one of a number of paintings of elderly figures dating to that decade. The
Morris Museum of Art The Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia was established in 1985 as a non-profit foundation by William S. Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, in memory of his parents, as the first museum dedicated to the collection and exhibition ...
owns ''Afternoon by the Beach, Chesapeake Bay'', an oil on canvas from the 1930s, and the undated oil ''Washing Clothes in the East Yard''. The Johnson Collection of Southern Art in
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,
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
owns six paintings, including a self-portrait. Smith is also represented in the collection of the
Butler Institute of American Art The Butler Institute of American Art, located on Wick Avenue in Youngstown, Ohio, United States, was the first museum dedicated exclusively to American art. Established by local industrialist and philanthropist Joseph G. Butler, Jr., the museum h ...
, and was formerly represented in the collection of the Corcoran Gallery of Art.


References


External links


images of Smith's work
from the Johnson Collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Gladys Nelson 1890 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters People from El Dorado, Kansas Painters from Kansas University of Kansas alumni Art Students League of New York alumni School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Corcoran School of the Arts and Design alumni Painters from Washington, D.C.