Jack Wilkinson Smith

American, 1873 - 1949

Follow this Artist

Jack Wilkinson Smith was born in Paterson, New Jersey on February 7, 1873. Smith inherited his interest in art from his father who painted some of the decorations in the Capitol Building in Albany, New York. While in his teens, he studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and was apprenticed to George Gardner Symons in Chicago. He later worked as a commercial artist in Lexington, Kentucky and went on to become a staff artist with the Cincinnati Enquirer. While in Cincinnati, he studied under Frank Duvaneck at the Art Academy. During the Spanish-American War (1898), his front line sketches brought him national renown. In 1906 he settled in Alhambra, California and established a studio-home in the eucalyptus grove called "Artists Alley" where his neighbors included Eli Harvey, Frank Tenney Johnson and, summer resident, Norman Rockwell. Smith was largely responsible for establishing the Biltmore Salon, which exhibited and sold works by local artists during the early part of this century. In the Midwest, he had worked in watercolor but upon moving to Los Angeles, he switched to oil. An Impressionist painter, he traveled from one end of the state to the other in search of subject matter. His sierra landscapes, seascapes and missions have made him one of California's most important painters. Smith died in Monterey Park on January 18, 1949.Biography courtesy of DeRu's Fine Arts, www.antiquesandfineart.com/derus