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Learn about the life and work of David Smith, an influential American abstract expressionist sculptor and painter who created large steel abstract geometric sculptures. Explore his early experiments with welded metal, his landscape-inspired sculptures, and his monumental pieces of the 1960s.
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Among the greatest American sculptors of the 20th century, David Smith was the first to work with welded metal. He wove a rich mythology around this rugged work, often talking of the formative experiences he had in his youth while working in a car body workshop. Yet this only disguised a brilliant mind that fruitfully combined a range of influences...
One of Smith's most important formal innovations was to abandon the idea of a "core" in sculpture. This notion was pervasive in modern sculpture, fostering an approach that saw sculptural form spri...The idea of the totem, a tribal art form that represents a group of related people, was an inspiration to Smith, and something for which he tried to find a modern form. Freud's ideas about totems l...One of the means by which Smith sought to keep the viewer at a distance from his sculptures - emotionally and intellectually - was to devise innovative approaches to composition. These were aimed a...Childhood
David Smith was born in Decatur, Indiana, in 1906 and moved with his family to Paulding, Ohio, in 1921. Smith's mother was a schoolteacher, while the artist's father managed a telephone company and was an amateur inventor. Smith was the great-grandson of a blacksmith, and of his childhood, the artist recalls, "we used to play on trains and around factories. I played there just as I played in nature, on hills and creeks." Smith left college after only one year and, in 1925, began working at th...
Early Training
After a brief period in Washington D.C., Smith came to New York City in 1926. He soon met his first wife, the sculptor Dorothy Dehner, and enrolled in The Art Students League, where he studied painting and drawing over the next five years. He never received formal sculptural training. His teacher Jan Matulka at the Art Students League did, however, encourage him to start adding three-dimensional elements to his paintings. At this time, Smith began creating relief-like works that evolved into...
Mature Period
In 1940, Smith and Dehner permanently relocated to their farm in Bolton Landing, in upstate New York. He named the farm "Terminal Iron Works," after his Brooklyn studio. This move was followed by a two-year period of decreased productivity, during which Smith worked in a locomotive factory in order to avoid the draft. The majority of the 1940s was a very productive time for Smith, and he worked through the influence of Surrealism to arrive at a style of sculpture that framed abstract, metamor...
Learn about David Smith, one of the greatest American sculptors of the 20th century, who pioneered the use of welded metal and drew on European modernism and Surrealism. Explore his biography, ideas, and major works, from figurative expressionism to geometric abstraction.
- American
- March 9, 1906
- Decatur, Indiana
- May 23, 1965
Learn about David Smith, the pioneer of welded metal sculpture and abstract geometric forms in postwar America. Explore his artistic influences, styles, series, and legacy in this comprehensive article by Britannica editors.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn about the life and work of David Smith, a pioneer of industrial sculpture and nature art. See his sculptures, paintings, and drawings at Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in 2024.
Roland David Smith (March 9, 1906 – May 23, 1965) was an influential and innovative American abstract expressionist sculptor and painter, widely known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures.
Learn about David Smith, an influential and innovative sculptor who created large steel abstract geometric sculptures. Explore his biography, artworks, and connections with other artists on Tate's website.
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YSP presents a major exhibition of over 40 works by the pioneering and highly influential American artist David Smith (1906-1965). Widely hailed as one of the 20th century’s outstanding ...
- 8 min
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- Yorkshire Sculpture Park
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