British painter (and occasional sculptor), born in Sheffield. He studied at Sheffield College of Art, 1944–6, and then (after doing National Service) in London at *St Martin's School of Art, 1948–50, and the *Royal College of Art, 1950–53. In the mid-1950s he was a leading figure of the *Kitchen Sink School. A typical work of this period is Mother Bathing Child (1953, Tate), which does in fact feature a kitchen sink. It is set in a crowded house that Smith and his family at this time shared with another Kitchen Sink painter, Derrick *Greaves, and the sculptor George *Fullard. Apart from interiors with figures such as this, he also painted still-lifes and seascapes. Even at this time he attached as much importance to formal qualities as to the nature of the subject-matter.

Text source: A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art (Oxford University Press)


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