George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
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
3
1
1
Overall Width
to
Overall Height
to
4
1
5
3
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
5
5
5
5
1
7
640
604
305
243
5
5
Artist: George Henry Smillie
"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 Landscape Paintings
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 Landscape Paintings
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Board
"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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
Related Items
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$288 Sale Price
84% Off
H 9.45 in W 13.71 in D 0.79 in
French School Impressionist Landscape Signed oil painting
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Vivid Landscape⬅️
⏩It is signed J Moreau, probably Jacques Gaston Moreau (1903-1994) ⏪
Jacques Gaston Moreau (1903-1994) was a French painter renowned for his evocative landscape...
Category
Early 1900s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$529 Sale Price
76% Off
H 18.12 in W 21.66 in D 0.79 in
French School Landscape BARBIZON Oil painting Signed
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Rustic Cottage in a Woodland Clearing⬅️
This painting, signed simply 'Adam,' appears to be the work of an artist closely associated with the Barbizon school—a movement that emerge...
Category
1830s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Gesso, Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$450 Sale Price
75% Off
H 11.23 in W 14.38 in D 1.19 in
Antique Rare American Hudson River School Original Frame Landscape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
A stunning 19th-century Hudson River School landscape painting, beautifully framed in an exquisite period giltwood molding.
Category
1890s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$956 Sale Price
20% Off
H 15.5 in W 24.5 in D 2 in
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$780 Sale Price
20% Off
H 22 in W 18 in D 2 in
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
"Grand Manan" Harrison Bird Brown, Maine Landscape, Hudson River School Seascape
By Harrison Bird Brown
Located in New York, NY
Harrison Bird Brown (1831 - 1915)
Grand Manan
Oil on canvas
12 x 20 inches
Signed with initials lower left
Harrison Bird Brown was born in 1831 in Portland, Maine, and is best known for his White Mountain landscapes and marine paintings of Maine's Casco Bay...
Category
Late 19th Century Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
FRENCH SCHOOL Urbanscape La defense France PARIS - SNOW - Chut les Barbizons!
Located in Zofingen, AG
⭐ La Défense ⭐
It's a cityscape, dominated by modern, high-rise buildings (Sky scrappers, office in Paris ) buried on snow.. The architecture suggests a contemporary urban environme...
Category
Early 1900s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Glue, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$462 Sale Price
82% Off
H 15.75 in W 15.75 in D 1.38 in
19th Century French School Landscape BARBIZON Oil painting Signed
Located in Zofingen, AG
➡️Rustic Cottage in a Woodland Clearing⬅️
☀️Subject & Setting☀️
A thatched-roof cottage sits in a clearing surrounded by dense, slender trees with soft foliage.
A winding dirt path ...
Category
Early 1800s Tonalist George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil, Stretcher Bars
$444 Sale Price
79% Off
H 11.23 in W 14.38 in D 0.79 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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$1,872 Sale Price
41% Off
H 20 in W 26 in
Realist Blue, Green & Brown Western Landscape of Cowboys Roping a Horse Stampede
Located in Houston, TX
Realist painting of a pair of cowboys attempting to rope a group of running horses set against an open landscape of rocky mountains. Signed by the artist in the front lower right cor...
Category
Late 20th Century American Realist George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$750
H 26.38 in W 37.5 in D 1.5 in
"Evening Breeze" Large Panoramic Sunset Beach Scene Rare Seascape Oil Painting
Located in Buffalo, NY
Rare and important antique oil painting by George Wright (1850 - 1916). A panoramic beach scene, complete with a sunset and crashing waves. Oil on canvas. Housed in a period gilt...
Category
1870s Hudson River School George Henry Smillie Landscape Paintings
Materials
Canvas, Oil
$7,800 Sale Price
20% Off
H 23 in W 37 in D 2 in
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 Landscape Paintings
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 Landscape Paintings
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 Landscape Paintings
Materials
Watercolor
George Henry Smillie landscape paintings for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic George Henry Smillie landscape paintings 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 landscape paintings, so small editions measuring 21 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of John MacDonald, William Trost Richards, and Albert Bierstadt. George Henry Smillie landscape paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,000 and tops out at $28,000, while the average work can sell for $18,000.