Frances Sutah "Polly" Smith (December 29, 1908 – June 18, 1980) was an American photographer. She was regarded as an important photographer whose work showcased

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

life to the world during the 1930s–1940s. Although not as critically acclaimed as contemporaries Margaret Bourke-White or

Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange' ...

, her work broke new ground in Texas.

Biography

After growing up in various Texas towns, Polly studied photography at the Clarence Hudson White School of Photography in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1935 she was hired as a freelance photographer by the

Texas Centennial Exposition The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western Am ...

to promote the Texas centennial. She was the first photographer to take photos for state marketing and tourism purposes. She travelled alone across the state documenting Texas life. Initially staying in hotels along her route, she accumulating negatives and periodically stopped to develop them. Later a dark room was built onto the back of a truck, allowing her to drive around the state and develop her work along the road. Her photographs appeared with hundreds of articles across the country in magazines like '' House Beautiful'', '' Pictorial Review'', '' Furniture Age'', '' Architectural Forum'', and many others. ''Texas Parade'' called Polly "one of Texas' finest artists with the camera," and stated that any illustrated book on Texas was likely to contain one or more of her "unusual" shots. Today, some of her photos are permanently mounted in the

Hall of State The Hall of State (originally the State of Texas Building) is a building in Dallas's Fair Park that commemorates the history of the U.S. state of Texas and is considered one of the best examples of Art Deco architecture in the state. It was desig ...

Fair Park Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex in Dallas, Texas, United States, located immediately east of downtown. The area is registered as a Dallas Landmark and National Historic Landmark; many of the buildings were constructed for th ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

. After her work for the exposition, she was commissioned by various corporations to shoot series of pictures on specific subjects, including cotton, cowboys, and oil. She also shot a series on airplanes for American Airways and the Dallas Aviation School. Smith returned to Austin in 1944 where she attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, studying sculpture and Impressionistic painting until health concerns forced her to end her studies. She continued to paint and sculpt but fought cancer and debilitating illness for the rest of her life. She died in Auburn, California, on June 18, 1980.

References

External links

Handbook of Texas

A Texas Journey, The Centennial Photographs of Polly Smith
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Polly American photojournalists 1908 births 1980 deaths People from Ruston, Louisiana 20th-century American women photographers 20th-century American photographers Women photojournalists