Jack Wilkinson Smith 6th CAC President, 1920-1921

Jack Wilkinson Smith
(1873 – 1949)

Painter. Born in Paterson, NJ 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, NY. While in his teens, he studied at the Chicago Art Institute and was apprenticed to artist Gardner Symons in Chicago. He later worked as a commercial artist in Lexington, KY and went on to become a sketch artist with the Cincinnati Enquirer. While in Cincinnati, he studied at the Art Academy under Frank Duveneck. During the Spanish-American War his front-line sketches brought him national renown. In 1906 he settled in Alhambra, CA and established a studio-home in the eucalyptus grove called “Artists Alley” where his neighbors included Eli Harvey, Frank Tenney Johnson, and summertime 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 the century. In the midwest he had worked in watercolor; however, upon moving to Los Angeles, he switched to oil. During the Depression he worked for Pacific Outdoor Advertising. An Impressionist, he traveled the state from one end to the other in search of subject matter. His Sierra landscapes, missions, and seascapes have made him one of California’s most important painters. Smith died in Monterey Park, CA on January 8, 1949.

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Source:
Edan Milton Hughes, Artists in California 1786 – 1940

Member:
Academy of Western Painters
Allied Art Association
California Art Club (President 1920-1921)
California Watercolor Society
Laguna Beach Art Association
Salmagundi Club (NYC)
Sketch Club of Los Angeles