Realist painter Gary Ernest Smith often gets compared to Regionalist artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Grant Wood, in their shared affection for depicting wide swaths of land and rural characters. The American West’s rocky canyons, deserts and pastures come to life on the canvas through a level of stark realism that’s devoid of pretense or extravagance. Smith's art reflects life, the land and hard work in a way that brings the viewer closer and builds appreciation for the subject.
Born in rural Oregon, Smith took to art at a very young age. His parents fostered his talent, giving him the freedom to follow his vision. Before he was out of high school, Smith had sold a number of his paintings and later worked at an art gallery owned by his aunt.
Smith attended Eastern Oregon College, earning a bachelor's degree in fine art. He went on to pursue graduate school, but the military drafted him for service during the Vietnam War before he could finish. After his military deployment, he studied at Brigham Young University, where he finally received his master’s degree.
Smith's work began to receive national attention in the early 1980s and was soon displaying his work at galleries and museums around the country. Notable museums — such as the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Phoenix Museum of Art — have displayed his work, and his pieces belong to private collections around the world. In the late 1990s, writer Donal Hagerty published a book showcasing Smith's work, titled Holding Ground: the Art of Gary Ernest Smith.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Smith has painted religious-themed murals and smaller projects for temples and churches throughout the world. Living in Utah with his wife, Judy, Smith remains a prolific creator of realist paintings and murals.
Find original Gary Ernest Smith paintings on 1stDibs.
"After the Storm"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Storm Break"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Storm Over the City"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Nature's Solitude"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have attracted the attention of collectors from coast to coast. His three year exhibit, “Journey I Search of Lost Images” hung in 22 museums and institutes across the United States. In an exhibit curated by the Brooklyn Museum of Art, his work toured the New Orleans Contemporary Art Center, San Jose Museum of Art, the Palm Springs Desert Museum and many more prestigious art institutions. Although he must strictly limit the number of commissions he accepts, his mural size paintings are highly prized by corporate collectors. Gary Ernest Smith was born and raised in a relatively isolated farm community 25 miles northeast of Baker City, Oregon. His interests and intensity for painting began at an early age and progressed through college degrees, numerous commissions and awards to a full time pursuit of painting. The commission work that dominated the early years eventually stifled his creativity. Dissatisfaction with this career direction forced him to reach inward and search beyond popular style and accepted artistic norms to a personal vision. Following years of artistic training and experimentation, subject matter began to emerge based on the artist’s background of a rural life-style that celebrates the values of hard work and self-reliance. These aspects of Smith’s life came together and became the catalyst for his distinctive style. Living in the west, his work is primarily of that region, but it is not western in the traditional sense. Although it defies precise classification, the artist considers his style “minimal” and seeks to express the essence and simplicity of each subject. Whatever the focus might be, his work expresses the artistic elements of bold form and color. These two components become the vehicle that melds the style and subject into a symbolic visual language, expanding the artistic appeal beyond the west...
Linen, Oil
"Evening Across the Lake"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Fire in the Sky"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Skyburst"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years the artist’s one-man shows have att...
Canvas, Oil
"Field of Order"
By Gary Ernest Smith
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
Lauded by critics and collectors alike, the art of Gary Ernest Smith resonates in the mind and memory of contemporary America. Over the past years th...
Linen, Oil
$1,350
H 25.6 in W 21.26 in D 0.79 in
"Once Verdant" (flora, abstract, roses, blush, pink, green, dye, antique linen)
By Nicholas Evans
Located in Paris, IDF
ONCE VERDANT 2024 Paris, France This enchanting painting portrays the artist's vision of an abstracted, organic floral pattern. The floral shapes and shadows allude to traces of a ...
Linen, Dye, Oil
25th Street
Located in Salt Lake City, UT
25th Street, by Elise Zoller, 24 x 30 in. oil on panel. Elise Zoller has recently embarked on a series of plein air paintings of sites around Salt Lake City and in the smaller towns of Utah from Hurricane to Huntsville. She has enjoyed meeting people along the road and learning about the history of the state. “Plein air work can be physically demanding, but there is no substitute for working from life. Light and shadow dance in subtle ways a photograph cannot capture. Even the wind and the fragrances it carries inform the work. Scenes come alive when you stand in one place for a few hours. You’ve got to get to know a spot,” Elise says. “While I work, all manner of people come up and talk to me about their towns and their lives. I’ve met a downwinder from Enterprise, pie bakers in Veyo, pony cart...
Linen, Birch, Oil
$780
H 19.69 in W 19.69 in D 0.79 in
"Potion as a Place" (Violet Floral, Energetic, Vibrant, Abstract, Landscape)
By Nicholas Evans
Located in Paris, IDF
"Potion as a Place," 2024, Paris, France A deep and bold floral of an abstract, mesmerizing landscape. This original oil painting on linen exudes loose and energetic movement with rich purples, that dances across the surface. Swirls of the floral, rose composition...
Oil, Linen
$5,000
H 31.5 in W 23.63 in D 1.58 in
Chinese Contemporary Art by Luo Yi - Landscape No.1
By Luo Yi
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on linen Luo Yi was born in 1965 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. She is an artist specialised in oil painting and contemporary art creation. Luo Yi s...
Linen, Oil
$7,801
H 59.06 in W 78.75 in D 1.19 in
Agorafolia - Large Format Contemporary Nature Oil Painting, Landscape, Clouds
By Aleksandra Batura
Located in Hallein, AT
Aleksandra Batura (b. 1982 in Augustów) a Warsaw based artist. She earned a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow. She studied at the Faculty of Painting...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
Venice I
By Juan Álvarez Cebrián
Located in CAMPO REAL, ES
A view of the walkways to the Gondola services in Venice, where the painter places us at dawn with the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in the background, submerged in the mist produce...
Linen, Oil
$2,961
H 35.44 in W 51.19 in D 0.79 in
Campfire 23 September 21:12 - Forest Landscape Oil Painting, Nature, Night
By Robert Motelski
Located in Hallein, AT
Robert Motelski's paintings are exceptional visions of nature, visions of space which surrounds us. They tell about being, fate and passing. They depend on the season of year, the ti...
Canvas, Oil
$800
H 18.12 in W 14.97 in D 0.79 in
"Take Me With You" (contemporary, black, flora, floral painting, antique linen)
By Nicholas Evans
Located in Paris, IDF
TAKE ME WITH YOU 2024 Paris, France Canvas composition is divided in half, with the upper potion focused on a floral bouquet, and the bottom half left unfinished other than a subtl...
Linen, Oil, Acrylic
Jan Harr 'Cloud studies' oil on canvas painting
Located in San Rafael, CA
Jan Harr (Norwegian b. 1945) Cloud studies oil on canvas signed JAN HARR (lower right) Canvas 15 x 18 ¼in. In a silver and black frame 18 1/4in H x 21 1/2 in L x 1 3/4in D Provenan...
Canvas, Oil
$5,125
H 63 in W 51.19 in D 1.19 in
Dopaminum 4 - Large Format Painting, Conceptual Oil Painting, Color Field
By Tomasz Prymon
Located in Hallein, AT
About Prymon’s Exhibition Dopaminum and his paintings: ”Dopaminum” - Tomasz Prymon Dopamine – colloquially referred to as the hormone of love and happiness. Why is this organic che...
Cotton Canvas, Oil
$4,498
H 43.31 in W 43.31 in D 0.79 in
Circles 2 - Contemporary Landscape Abstract Painting
By Aleksandra Batura
Located in Hallein, AT
Own Technique on canvas: oil and ink Aleksandra Batura (b. 1982 in Augustów) a Warsaw based artist. She earned a Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the...
Cotton Canvas, Ink, Oil
$7,400
H 31.5 in W 39.38 in D 1.58 in
Chinese Contemporary Art by Luo Yi - Landscape No.3
By Luo Yi
Located in Paris, IDF
Oil on linen Luo Yi was born in 1965 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, China. She is an artist specialised in oil painting and contemporary art creation. Luo Yi s...
Linen, Oil