Jack Smith was born in Sheffield, before studying at St Martin’s School of Art 1948-50, Royal College of Art 1950-3 and then settling in London. He showed at Beaux Arts from 1953, initially painting in a neo-realist ‘Kitchen Sink’ style. But from the mid-1950s he became more interested in the play of light on shapes and eventually became a meticulous abstractionist.
Smith taught at various colleges and in 1956 won first prize at the John Moores Liverpool Exhibition, by which time he was also showing in the United States. Major exhibitions included retrospectives at the Whitechapel Gallery in 1959 and Serpentine Gallery 1978. In his later years Smith was represented by Flowers East Gallery in London. The Tate Gallery, Arts Council, British Council and many provincial and foreign galleries hold his work.
’21 Elements on a Grid’’26 Elements on Blue (Circular)’
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