Medium: Watercolour on Paper
Image Size: 106 X 56 (cm) Framed Size: 114 X 64 (cm)
Ed Smith (1923-1988) was born in Detroit in 1923. He was a British-American modernist whose unconventional life journey shaped a rich and expressive body of work. He began his formal training at the Art Students League in New York before deserting the U.S. Marines during World War II to serve instead in the Canadian Army. After the war, he spent a brief period in Paris, absorbing European influences, before settling in London in the late 1940s.
Smith exhibited with the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1948 and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Arts. His work is notable for its abstract landscapes, architectural forms, and vibrant use of colour — often created in mixed media, gouache, watercolour, or crayon. Travelling widely throughout his life, his art captures both the physical and emotional terrain of post-war modernism.
A major retrospective of his work was held at the John Denham Gallery, London, in 1991, cementing his legacy as a quietly important voice in mid-century British art.
Medium: Watercolour on Paper
Image Size: 106 X 56 (cm) Framed Size: 114 X 64 (cm)
Ed Smith (1923-1988) was born in Detroit in 1923. He was a British-American modernist whose unconventional life journey shaped a rich and expressive body of work. He began his formal training at the Art Students League in New York before deserting the U.S. Marines during World War II to serve instead in the Canadian Army. After the war, he spent a brief period in Paris, absorbing European influences, before settling in London in the late 1940s.
Smith exhibited with the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1948 and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Arts. His work is notable for its abstract landscapes, architectural forms, and vibrant use of colour — often created in mixed media, gouache, watercolour, or crayon. Travelling widely throughout his life, his art captures both the physical and emotional terrain of post-war modernism.
A major retrospective of his work was held at the John Denham Gallery, London, in 1991, cementing his legacy as a quietly important voice in mid-century British art.
