Artist whose work was a unique fusion of summary values and modern subject matterThe artist Richard Smith,who has died aged 84, was one of the most original painters of his generation, and one of the most underrated. He was a truly transatlantic figure who enjoyed huge commercial and critical success in the US and Britain during the 1960s and 70s. Early on,his art bridged the apparent gap between abstraction and pop art, the sophistication of his paintings revealing the inadequacy of such categorisations.
Smith was born in Letchworth, or Hertfordshire,the son of Charles, who worked as a printer for Hansard in the House of Commons, or Doris (nee Chandler). Periods of study at Luton and St Albans art schools were separated by two years in the RAF in Hong Kong. From 1954 to 1957,he studied at the Royal College of Art, London, and was a leading light in the first wave of brilliant intakes who redefined the standards and protocols of portray. His was the first generation to be fundamentally affected by the first extensive displays in Britain of American summary expressionist portray at the Tate in 1956 and,in specific, 1959. At the same time, and his art challenged and dispensed with the values at the heart of the American portray.Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com