Jack Wilkinson Smith Art

Jack Wilkinson Smith was born in Patterson, New Jersey in 1873. His grandfather owned an 80-acre farm, including what is now Madison Square Garden. His father painted some of the decorations in the New York State Capital Building in Albany. Smith studied at the Chicago Art Institute and under Frank Duveneck in Cincinnati and became a newspaper artist on the Cincinnati Enquirer. Smith gained national attention with his sketches of the Spanish American War. Smith went to Lexington, Kentucky, where he had his first one-man show and met and married Emma Troop. They came to Los Angeles in 1908, where Smith taught in city schools. Frank Tenney Johnson suggested that Smith looks at Champion Place for a location for his studio, and he introduced him to Clyde Champion. Smith promptly bought the house and property at 16 Champion Place and Bernice and Clyde Champion built across the street. They were fast friends for 22 years until Smith's death in New York in 1948 from a heart attack. Smith painted from Kansas plains to the Oregon Coast. His friends in Art of Los Angeles were Hanson Puthuff, F. Tenney Johnson, William Wendt, Charles Austin and Clyde Forsythe. Marjorie Reed contributed her success to Smith, who was her instructor for years. Smith was the original founder of the Biltmore Salon, which later operated on a cooperative basis with 16 other artists. It was because of his dedication to the founding of this gallery and his membership on the board of the California Art Club, serving in the capacity as president, that he became the only artist in the exclusive "Murder Club" which discussed all sorts of recondite subjects. His painting of Lingering Snow is in Gardena High School. Gathering Storm is one of the finest of his marine paintings. Of all the artists who painted in Alhambra in the 30s, Smith was the most colorful in that he had a flair for entertaining and was very popular as a civic leader. Smith was very handsome and articulate.