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Frank Hill Smith

December 01, 2023

Frank Hill Smith (1842–1904) was an American artist and interior designer based in Boston, Massachusetts.[1][2] He painted landscapes and figures; and designed wall frescos, stage curtains, stained-glass windows, and other décor.[3] Among his works are ceiling frescoes in the Representatives Hall in the Massachusetts State House.

Frank Hill Smith

Life and career edit

 
Sunflower House, Beacon Hill, where Smith lived c. 1864 (photo taken 2010)

In Boston Smith trained with Hammatt Billings (c. 1859) and also studied at the Lowell Institute. As part of his training he "drew from the antique at the Athenaeum." He travelled in Europe in the 1860s, studying at "the atelier Suisse, in Paris, and ... with [Léon] Bonnat and other noted French painters" (1865).[4]

In the 1870s "there is no doubt that Smith, [Albion Harris] Bicknell, [Thomas] Robinson, Cole, [William Morris] Hunt, Waterman, and, later on, [Frederic Porter] Vinton, and one or two others, had pretty much the swing of art in Boston for several years. ... They were constantly together, working like brothers in the cause. ... Smith, Robinson, and Hunt used to paint a great deal together; in fact, they formed a triumvirate club to 'sass one another's pictures,' as Hunt termed it."[4]

In 1880 New York's "Union League Club ... contracted with John La Farge, Frank Hill Smith, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and Will H. Low to undertake decoration of ... areas in [its] new building."[5] In 1886 Smith was "working on the plans of a Casino, to be erected in Green Bay, Florida. The designs are drawn in a broad, artistic manner, and are the most extensive for comfort and elegance of any known in this country. It is estimated that it will require $350,000 to erect and finish the structure."[6]

Around this time he designed a cottage intended for Walt Whitman; it was never built.[7] He painted an "elegant drop curtain" for the Fairhaven Town Hall auditorium, in Massachusetts, c. 1894.[8] Smith also painted ceiling frescoes in the Representatives Hall in the Massachusetts State House,[9][10] depicting portraits of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, James Otis and Joseph Warren.[11]

 
Gondoliers, Venice, 1873; painted by Smith

In Boston's Beacon Hill, he lived in the Sunflower House on the corner of River and Mt. Vernon Streets.[12][13] A local newspaper described it:

One of the things to see here is the house of Mr. Frank Hill Smith, the artist. He has transformed an old wooden building at the corner of Mt. Vernon and River Streets into the most attractive and picturesque place in the city. ... The upper story and roof are tiled, the windows are abundant and pretty; on the front of the large gable in the roof is a huge sunflower in high relief; below it, on the upper story, is a winged lion in relief; over the front door is a course of grotesque, open carving; the whole is painted yellow, and is so attractive that people who love light and sunshine hover about it like moths round a candle. There is nothing in New England in the least like it; and Mr. Fields did it no more than justice when he brought it into his lecture on Cheerfulness, a day or two ago,[14] with a hearty compliment to its originality, and its cheering influence.[15]

Smith exhibited works in the Museum of Fine Arts in Copley Square (1877)[16] and Williams & Everett's gallery (c. 1877).[17] He belonged to Boston's St. Botolph Club.[18][19] He also acted as a judge in the 1876 U.S. Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.[20] Around the 1880s he served on the "Permanent Committee of the School of Drawing and Painting of the Museum of Fine Arts," Boston.[21][22]

Smith died at Boston in 1904.[23]

His descendants included artist Fannie Hillsmith.[22][24]

Gallery edit

Paintings by F.H. Smith

  •  

    St. Mark's, Venice, 1871 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

  •  

    c. 1875

  •  

    1876

  •  

    19th century

Designs by Smith edit

 
Ironwork designed by Smith, c. 1897

References edit

  1. ^ Frank H. Smith, artist, no.161 Tremont; cf. Boston Directory, 1873
  2. ^ Boston almanac and business directory. 1875, 1876, 1887
  3. ^ New York Times, March 22, 1880
  4. ^ a b c d e Robinson. 1888
  5. ^ Wilson H. Faude. Associated Artists and the American Renaissance in the Decorative Arts. Winterthur Portfolio, Vol. 10 (1975)
  6. ^ a b American Art Notes. American Art Illustrated, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Nov., 1886)
  7. ^ Baxter, S. Walt Whitman in Boston. The New England Magazine, Volume 6. August 1892.
  8. ^ Knipe, Mabel Hoyle (June 1977). . millicentlibrary.org. Archived from the original on 25 September 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  9. ^ King's how to see Boston. 1895
  10. ^ a b Massachusetts Art Commission, "Art in the Massachusetts State House," 1986
  11. ^ "Smith, Frank Hill, 1841-1904, painter". Smithsonian Institution. 2004. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  12. ^ Frank H. Smith, architect, house no. 1 River St.; cf. Boston Directory. 1864
  13. ^ For information about the house, see: Douglass Shand-Tucci. Built in Boston: city and suburb, 1800-2000. Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1999
  14. ^ "Cheerfulness: Mr. James T. Field's Lecture" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 April 1875. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  15. ^ "Old Boston Streets" (Boston Letter to the Worcester Spy), printed in Wayside Gleanings for Leisure Moments. Cambridge, Mass.: J. Wilson & Son, 1882
  16. ^ Art Journal (1875-1887), New Series, Vol. 3 (1877)
  17. ^ "Atlantic Monthly". April 1877. Retrieved 3 October 2010. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  18. ^ G. P. Lathrop. St. Botolph Club, Boston. First Exhibition (Opened May 19. Closed May 29). American Art Review, Vol. 1, No. 10 (Aug., 1880)
  19. ^ Doris A. Birmingham. Boston's St. Botolph Club: Home of the Impressionists. Archives of American Art Journal, Vol. 31, No. 3 (1991)
  20. ^ United States Centennial Commission. International Exhibition 1876, Official Catalogue, part 1, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Nagle, 1876; p.19
  21. ^ Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin (Boston), Feb. 1925
  22. ^ a b Smith, Roberta (4 August 2007). "Fannie Hillsmith, Distinctly American Cubist, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  23. ^ American Art Annual, Volume 5. MacMillan Company. 1905. pp. 123.
  24. ^ "Fannie Hillsmith". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  25. ^ Bacon's dictionary of Boston. 1886
  26. ^ Rich painting and glass: decorations in the New Union League club-house; Mr. Louis Tiffany's yet unfinished work and its agreeable promise - Mr. John La Farge's victory and other painting - work by Hill Smith and Cotter & Co. New York Times, Feb. 16, 1881
  27. ^ Some of the Union League Club Decorators, printed in The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 24. March 1882.
  28. ^ American Architect and Building News, June 21, 1884
  29. ^ American Architect and Building News, Oct. 23, 1886
  30. ^ New York Times, Jan. 10, 1891
  31. ^ State House Construction. Massachusetts Senate document no.3, Jan. 1895
  32. ^ American art directory, Volume 5. New York: R.R. Bowker, 1905.
  33. ^ S. Baxter. Walt Whitman in Boston. New England Magazine, Aug. 1892

Further reading edit

  • Fay, John William; Linen, Herbert M.; Dearborn, L.E. The Cyclopædia of American Biography, Volume 5. 1915.
  • Champlin, John Denison and Perkins, Charles Callahan. Cyclopædia of painters and paintings, Volume 4. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913.
  • Fenno-Gendrot. Artists I Have Known. Boston: Warren Press, March 1923.
  • Fielding, Mantle. Mantle Fielding's Dictionary of American Painters, Sculptors & Engravers. New York: J.F. Carr, 1965.
  • Robinson, Frank Torrey. Living New England Artists: Biographical sketches, reproductions of original drawings and paintings by each artist. Boston: S. E. Cassino, 1888.
  • Waters, Clara Erskine and Hutton, Laurence. Artists of the 19th Century and Their Works: A handbook containing two thousand and fifty biographical sketches. Volume 2. Boston: Houghton, Osgood, 1879.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Hill Smith.
  • Google news archive. Articles related to F. Hill Smith

December 01, 2023
frank, hill, smith, 1842, 1904, american, artist, interior, designer, based, boston, massachusetts, painted, landscapes, figures, designed, wall, frescos, stage, curtains, stained, glass, windows, other, décor, among, works, ceiling, frescoes, representatives,. Frank Hill Smith 1842 1904 was an American artist and interior designer based in Boston Massachusetts 1 2 He painted landscapes and figures and designed wall frescos stage curtains stained glass windows and other decor 3 Among his works are ceiling frescoes in the Representatives Hall in the Massachusetts State House Frank Hill Smith Contents 1 Life and career 2 Gallery 3 Designs by Smith 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife and career edit nbsp Sunflower House Beacon Hill where Smith lived c 1864 photo taken 2010 In Boston Smith trained with Hammatt Billings c 1859 and also studied at the Lowell Institute As part of his training he drew from the antique at the Athenaeum He travelled in Europe in the 1860s studying at the atelier Suisse in Paris and with Leon Bonnat and other noted French painters 1865 4 In the 1870s there is no doubt that Smith Albion Harris Bicknell Thomas Robinson Cole William Morris Hunt Waterman and later on Frederic Porter Vinton and one or two others had pretty much the swing of art in Boston for several years They were constantly together working like brothers in the cause Smith Robinson and Hunt used to paint a great deal together in fact they formed a triumvirate club to sass one another s pictures as Hunt termed it 4 In 1880 New York s Union League Club contracted with John La Farge Frank Hill Smith Augustus Saint Gaudens and Will H Low to undertake decoration of areas in its new building 5 In 1886 Smith was working on the plans of a Casino to be erected in Green Bay Florida The designs are drawn in a broad artistic manner and are the most extensive for comfort and elegance of any known in this country It is estimated that it will require 350 000 to erect and finish the structure 6 Around this time he designed a cottage intended for Walt Whitman it was never built 7 He painted an elegant drop curtain for the Fairhaven Town Hall auditorium in Massachusetts c 1894 8 Smith also painted ceiling frescoes in the Representatives Hall in the Massachusetts State House 9 10 depicting portraits of Samuel Adams John Hancock James Otis and Joseph Warren 11 nbsp Gondoliers Venice 1873 painted by SmithIn Boston s Beacon Hill he lived in the Sunflower House on the corner of River and Mt Vernon Streets 12 13 A local newspaper described it One of the things to see here is the house of Mr Frank Hill Smith the artist He has transformed an old wooden building at the corner of Mt Vernon and River Streets into the most attractive and picturesque place in the city The upper story and roof are tiled the windows are abundant and pretty on the front of the large gable in the roof is a huge sunflower in high relief below it on the upper story is a winged lion in relief over the front door is a course of grotesque open carving the whole is painted yellow and is so attractive that people who love light and sunshine hover about it like moths round a candle There is nothing in New England in the least like it and Mr Fields did it no more than justice when he brought it into his lecture on Cheerfulness a day or two ago 14 with a hearty compliment to its originality and its cheering influence 15 Smith exhibited works in the Museum of Fine Arts in Copley Square 1877 16 and Williams amp Everett s gallery c 1877 17 He belonged to Boston s St Botolph Club 18 19 He also acted as a judge in the 1876 U S Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia 20 Around the 1880s he served on the Permanent Committee of the School of Drawing and Painting of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston 21 22 Smith died at Boston in 1904 23 His descendants included artist Fannie Hillsmith 22 24 Gallery editPaintings by F H Smith nbsp St Mark s Venice 1871 Museum of Fine Arts Boston nbsp c 1875 nbsp 1876 nbsp 19th centuryDesigns by Smith edit nbsp Ironwork designed by Smith c 1897Young s Hotel Boston 25 Union League Club of New York Club House interior c 1881 5th Ave and 39th St 26 27 28 House Falmouth Massachusetts c 1886 29 Casino Green Bay Florida 1886 6 Cafe Dunderberg Mount New York c 1890 30 Massachusetts State House Representatives Hall frescoes Boston 1894 10 31 Holyoke Opera House Holyoke Massachusetts 32 Cottage intended for Walt Whitman not built 33 Union Club Chicago 4 Christ Church Cambridge Massachusetts 4 Puritan steamer ship Old Colony Steamboat Co 4 References edit Frank H Smith artist no 161 Tremont cf Boston Directory 1873 Boston almanac and business directory 1875 1876 1887 New York Times March 22 1880 a b c d e Robinson 1888 Wilson H Faude Associated Artists and the American Renaissance in the Decorative Arts Winterthur Portfolio Vol 10 1975 a b American Art Notes American Art Illustrated Vol 1 No 2 Nov 1886 Baxter S Walt Whitman in Boston The New England Magazine Volume 6 August 1892 Knipe Mabel Hoyle June 1977 The Story of a Town House millicentlibrary org Archived from the original on 25 September 2010 Retrieved 3 October 2010 King s how to see Boston 1895 a b Massachusetts Art Commission Art in the Massachusetts State House 1986 Smith Frank Hill 1841 1904 painter Smithsonian Institution 2004 Retrieved 3 October 2010 Frank H Smith architect house no 1 River St cf Boston Directory 1864 For information about the house see Douglass Shand Tucci Built in Boston city and suburb 1800 2000 Univ of Massachusetts Press 1999 Cheerfulness Mr James T Field s Lecture PDF The New York Times 13 April 1875 Retrieved 3 October 2010 Old Boston Streets Boston Letter to the Worcester Spy printed in Wayside Gleanings for Leisure Moments Cambridge Mass J Wilson amp Son 1882 Art Journal 1875 1887 New Series Vol 3 1877 Atlantic Monthly April 1877 Retrieved 3 October 2010 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help G P Lathrop St Botolph Club Boston First Exhibition Opened May 19 Closed May 29 American Art Review Vol 1 No 10 Aug 1880 Doris A Birmingham Boston s St Botolph Club Home of the Impressionists Archives of American Art Journal Vol 31 No 3 1991 United States Centennial Commission International Exhibition 1876 Official Catalogue part 1 2nd ed Philadelphia Nagle 1876 p 19 Museum of Fine Arts Bulletin Boston Feb 1925 a b Smith Roberta 4 August 2007 Fannie Hillsmith Distinctly American Cubist Dies at 96 The New York Times Retrieved 3 October 2010 American Art Annual Volume 5 MacMillan Company 1905 pp 123 Fannie Hillsmith Smithsonian Institution Retrieved 3 October 2010 Bacon s dictionary of Boston 1886 Rich painting and glass decorations in the New Union League club house Mr Louis Tiffany s yet unfinished work and its agreeable promise Mr John La Farge s victory and other painting work by Hill Smith and Cotter amp Co New York Times Feb 16 1881 Some of the Union League Club Decorators printed in The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine Volume 24 March 1882 American Architect and Building News June 21 1884 American Architect and Building News Oct 23 1886 New York Times Jan 10 1891 State House Construction Massachusetts Senate document no 3 Jan 1895 American art directory Volume 5 New York R R Bowker 1905 S Baxter Walt Whitman in Boston New England Magazine Aug 1892Further reading editFay John William Linen Herbert M Dearborn L E The Cyclopaedia of American Biography Volume 5 1915 Champlin John Denison and Perkins Charles Callahan Cyclopaedia of painters and paintings Volume 4 Charles Scribner s Sons 1913 Fenno Gendrot Artists I Have Known Boston Warren Press March 1923 Fielding Mantle Mantle Fielding s Dictionary of American Painters Sculptors amp Engravers New York J F Carr 1965 Robinson Frank Torrey Living New England Artists Biographical sketches reproductions of original drawings and paintings by each artist Boston S E Cassino 1888 Waters Clara Erskine and Hutton Laurence Artists of the 19th Century and Their Works A handbook containing two thousand and fifty biographical sketches Volume 2 Boston Houghton Osgood 1879 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Hill Smith Google news archive Articles related to F Hill Smith Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Hill Smith amp oldid 1065314472, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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