George Henry Smillie Art
American, 1840-1921
The career of George Smillie followed the arc of nineteenth-century U.S. landscape painting. Trained in the Hudson River School tradition, Smillie successfully adapted to changing U.S. tastes and growing interest in European trends. In the late 1800s, he moved to tonalist paintings full of brushwork and influenced by French Barbizon painting. By the end of his career, he had lightened his palette to produce works similar to those of the U.S. impressionists. Yet in all styles, he was never less than competent, and his tonalist work is among the best produced in the United States.
Like many nineteenth-century painters, George Smillie’s artistic training began with the study of printing. His father, James Smillie, was a noted printmaker who engraved Hudson River landscapes. George studied briefly with James McDougal Hart and then opened a studio of his own in New York City. A critic in 1870 said that his realistic landscapes exhibited “a certain refinement” that “enhances the charm of his more quiet scenes.”
Smillie spent most of his career in New York City but sketched for several summers in New Hampshire, upstate New York, and Florida. In the early 1870s, George Smillie and his older brother (James Smillie, also an artist) ventured to the western United States to sketch. The trip inspired several paintings of the Rocky Mountains as well as some with Native American scenes observed from real life.
On the same trip, the Smillie brothers visited the Yosemite Valley in California. Access was difficult until the national park was established in 1890, and the brothers visited before the area’s features were well-known to European Americans. An oil painting by George Smillie of Half Dome in Yosemite sold for $42,000 in 2006.
George Smillie painted both in oils and in watercolor. He embraced a wide range of landscape subjects from quiet Connecticut meadows to rocky Massachusetts coastlines. He particularly liked painting the area around the shores of Long Island.
After a tour of Europe, however, George Smillie began painting moody tonalist landscapes with muted colors. He became fascinated with the changeability of the seasons and times of the day. In these works, Smillie often chose a dramatic viewpoint and mysterious lighting to add theatrical excitement to the scene.
During the 1890s, Smillie lived in southern Connecticut where he met the major U.S. impressionists. He soon changed his style again, now choosing a lighter palette and even looser brushwork. In 1906, the 66-year-old painter moved for the final time to Pondville Road in Bronxville, NY. He said of the area, “For the landscape painter there is enough to keep him busy here without going far afield for his subjects, and there is always inspiration among our beautiful trees and back lanes and old pastures.”to
1
3
2
2
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
7
1
8
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
7
7
7
7
1
9
8,821
2,810
1,317
1,270
7
8
Artist: George Henry Smillie
"Coastal Scene" George Henry Smillie, Hudson River School, Rocky Coast, Cloudy
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie
Coastal Scene
Signed lower right
Oil on canvas
20 x 30 inches
Provenance
Collection of Sylvia and Saverio Giammalva, Houston, Texas
The career of George Smill...
Category
1880s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Oil, Canvas
"Farmland Meadows" George Henry Smillie, Hudson River School, Sunset Landscape
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie
Farmland Meadows, 1865
Signed and dated lower left
Oil on canvas
10 1/2 x 18 inches
Provenance
Private Collection, Langley, Washington
The career of George Sm...
Category
1860s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"East Hampton, New York" George Henry Smillie, Hudson River School, Long Island
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie
East Hampton, New York, 1884
Signed lower left
Dated lower right
Oil on canvas
15 x 24 inches
Provenance
Cigna Museum and Art Collection
Questroyal Fine Art
T...
Category
1880s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Oil Landscape of Bronx River
By George Henry Smillie
Located in Fredericksburg, VA
George Henry Smillie was an American painter and etcher. He became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1882. He often painted both in oils and in water colour. His favourit...
Category
Early 20th Century Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"An Old New England Orchard" original etching
By George Henry Smillie
Located in Henderson, NV
Medium: original etching. Executed in 1883; this is a rich, dark impression on heavy cream wove paper, from the "Original Etchings by American Artists" portfolio, published in 1883 b...
Category
1880s George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Etching
"Stone Wall, Autumn, " George Smillie, Tonalist Fall Landscape View
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie (1840 - 1921)
Stone Wall, Autumn, 1879
Oil on canvas
9 1/2 x 15 inches
Signed and dated lower right
Provenance:
Skinner, Boston, September 19, 2014, Lot 389
The career of George Smillie (1840-1921) followed the arc of nineteenth-century U.S. landscape painting. Trained in the Hudson River School tradition, Smillie successfully adapted to changing U.S. tastes and growing interest in European trends. In the late 1800s, he moved to tonalist paintings full of brushwork and influenced by French Barbizon painting. By the end of his career, he had lightened his palette to produce works similar to those of the U.S. impressionists. Yet in all styles, he was never less than competent, and his tonalist work is among the best produced in the United States.
Like many nineteenth-century painters, George Smillie’s artistic training began with the study of printing. His father, James Smillie...
Category
1870s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley" George Henry Smillie, West, 19th Century
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie
Cathedral Rocks, Yosemite Valley, 1871
Signed and inscribed board verso "Cathedral Rocks-Morning-Yo-semite Valley Aug. 71 Geo. H. Smillie", also inscribed "Yo-se...
Category
1870s Academic George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
Near Marblehead, Mass
By George Henry Smillie
Located in Milford, NH
A fine New England landscape with sheep grazing near Boston’s North Shore coast by American artist George Henry Smillie (1840-1921). Smillie was born in New York, son of engraver Jam...
Category
Late 19th Century George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Related Items
Moonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape)
By Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Located in Hudson, NY
Luminist, Hudson River School inspired landscape of Catskill mountains with moonlit blue sky
"Moonrise in the Mountains", painted by Hudson Valley artist, Jane Bloodgood-Abrams in 20...
Category
2010s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Jane Bloodgood-AbramsMoonrise in the Mountains (Hudson River School Style Nighttime Landscape), 2024
$7,600
H 32 in W 42 in D 2 in
Evocation (Hudson River School Landscape Oil Painting of Sunset, Framed)
By Jane Bloodgood-Abrams
Located in Hudson, NY
Hudson River School inspired landscape painting of sunset with orange glow
“Evocation” painted by Jane Bloodgood-Abrams in 2014
oil on canvas
48 x 60 inches / 49.25 x 61.5 inches wi...
Category
2010s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$15,500
H 50 in W 62 in D 2 in
Antique American Hudson River School Landscape Cows Oil Painting Gilt Frame 19th
Located in Buffalo, NY
Antique Quintessential American Hudson River School landscape by an unknown Hudson River School artist.
This painting features its original period gold frame, and a charming scene o...
Category
1860s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,872 Sale Price
41% Off
H 20 in W 26 in
French School Impressionist The old watermill oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Vivid Landscape⬅️
⏩It is signed R Hesse, probably René Jean Hesse (1910-2000) ⏪
René Hesse was a French painter whose art captured the essence of rural Lorraine with remarkable s...
Category
Early 1900s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$884 Sale Price
79% Off
H 19.69 in W 29.53 in D 1.97 in
Dennis Sheehan, "Moon Over the Marsh", 30x40 Sunset Landscape Oil Painting
By Dennis Sheehan
Located in Saratoga Springs, NY
This piece, "Moon Over the Marsh", by artist Dennis Sheehan is a 30x40 oil painting on canvas featuring a landscape at sunset. Remaining light from the setting sun burns the sky in a...
Category
2010s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Autumn, 1923
By Bruce Crane
Located in Milford, NH
A splendid Autumn tonalist landscape by American artist Bruce (Robert Bruce) Crane (1857-1937). Crane was born in New York City, and as an artist, was influenced by the French Barbizon school of...
Category
1920s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
[Mount Washington Winter Scene]
By Samuel Griggs
Located in Boston, MA
Signed and dated lower left: "SW Griggs 73". In fine condition.
Category
1870s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
![[Mount Washington Winter Scene]](https://a.1stdibscdn.com/samuel-griggs-paintings-mount-washington-winter-scene-for-sale/a_3973/1542491172400/BB1516_02R_master.jpg?width=240 "hunter samuel griggs")
Antique American 19th Century Forest Pond Interior Landscape Framed Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Nicely framed 19th century forest interior landscape painting. Oil on canvas. Ready to hang. Image size, 13"L by 17"H inches painting alone.
Category
1880s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$780 Sale Price
20% Off
H 22 in W 18 in D 2 in
Three Sisters in the Cascade Range, Oregon Lake with Birds Migrating
Located in Soquel, CA
Three Sisters in the Cascade Range, Oregon
Landscape scene depicting three snowcapped mountains, also known as "The Three Sisters," surrounded by evergreen trees by John Englehart...
Category
Late 19th Century Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Oil, Linen
$1,995 Sale Price
21% Off
H 36 in W 55 in D 3 in
French School Impressionist Landscape Le Mont Saint Michel Signed oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Vivid Landscape Le Mont Saint Michel⬅️
⏩It is signed J Moreau, probably Jacques Gaston Moreau (1903-1994) ⏪
Jacques Gaston Moreau (1903-1994) was a French painter renowned for hi...
Category
Early 1900s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$283 Sale Price
84% Off
H 9.45 in W 13.71 in D 0.79 in
The Beekeeper's Daughter 1881 oil painting by Henry Bacon
By Henry Bacon
Located in Hudson, NY
Lovely genre scene by American impressionist Henry Bacon (1839-1912).
The Beekeeper's Daughter (1881)
Oil on canvas
35" x 36"
42.5" x 33" x 3" framed
Signed and dated "Henry Bacon ...
Category
1880s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Catskill Mountains from Germantown NY
By Thomas Cole
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Gorgeous panoramic sunset landscape by unknown artist, ca. 1850. Oil on canvas measuring 20 x 34 inches.
Depicted are the Catskill Mountains facing west from somewhere in Dutchess County NY...
Category
Mid-19th Century Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Previously Available Items
"Path to the Lake, " George Smillie, Hudson River School, Tonalism Landscape
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New York, NY
George Henry Smillie (1840 - 1921)
Path to the Lake, circa 1910
Oil on canvas
30 x 20 inches
Signed lower left
Provenance:
Alex Fraser Galleries, Vancouver
Private Collection, Vancouver
The career of George Smillie (1840-1921) followed the arc of nineteenth-century U.S. landscape painting. Trained in the Hudson River School tradition, Smillie successfully adapted to changing U.S. tastes and growing interest in European trends. In the late 1800s, he moved to tonalist paintings full of brushwork and influenced by French Barbizon painting. By the end of his career, he had lightened his palette to produce works similar to those of the U.S. impressionists. Yet in all styles, he was never less than competent, and his tonalist work is among the best produced in the United States.
Like many nineteenth-century painters, George Smillie’s artistic training began with the study of printing. His father, James Smillie...
Category
Late 19th Century Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
“Early Autumn, Bronxville Woods”
By George Henry Smillie
Located in Southampton, NY
Oil on canvas painting by the American National Academy artist, George H. Smillie. Signed lower left. Signed and titled verso. In good condition; original unlined canvas. The painti...
Category
1910s American Impressionist George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Canvas, Oil
George Smillie, Lake Scene
By George Henry Smillie
Located in New Orleans, LA
A stunningly realistic and accomplished painting in a medium (watercolor) that is absolutely unforgiving. Watercolors of this quality are extremely rare, by anyone!
Plan a trip to New Orleans, have some fun, save on shipping and pick it up from me personally!
Born in New York City on December 29, 1840, George Smillie was the son of James Smillie...
Category
Late 19th Century Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Art
Materials
Watercolor
George Henry Smillie art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic George Henry Smillie art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by George Henry Smillie in canvas, fabric, oil paint and more. Not every interior allows for large George Henry Smillie art, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of John MacDonald, Albert Bierstadt, and William Bradford. George Henry Smillie art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $150 and tops out at $28,000, while the average work can sell for $18,000.