Eric Smith

Eric John Smith (5 August 1919 – 20 February 2017) was an Australian artist. Smith won the Archibald Prize for portraiture three times; the Wynne Prize twice; the Sulman Prize three times; and the Blake Prize for Religious Art six times.

Life and work

Roger Pryke painting by Eric SmithEric Smith was born and raised in Brunswick, Melbourne. At the age of 17 Smith undertook the study of Commercial Art and Painting at the Brunswick Technical School and joined the Victorian Artists Society. In 1940 Smith joined the Australian Army for the remainder of the Second World War.

Upon the end of the war, Smith returned to Melbourne and pursued his artistic ambitions. In 1945, a self-portrait painted on an army canvas was runner-up for the Archibald Prize. The award announced on 22 January 1971 came 25 years after his second place.

Smith's second winning portrait of art dealer and gallery owner Rudy Komon entered in the 1981 Archibald Prize caused controversy within the art world. In 1975 John Bloomfield's winning entry was disqualified due to his portraiture of Tim Burstall being painted from a photograph. It is a condition of entry that all portraits be painted from life rather than interpretations of photographs. Bloomfield asserted that Smith's portraiture of Komon resembled a photograph taken of the subject in 1974 and hence was in breach of the competition rules. Bloomfield threatened legal action to prevent the prize being awarded to Smith. The controversy subsided when Komon came to Smith's defence and said he had sat for Smith many times over the previous twenty-one years.

Eric Smith was recognised for his contribution to the visual arts with an Australia Council Emeritus Award in 1995.

A total of 13 paintings are in the Art Gallery of NSW collection.

Awards 1944 Australia at War, War on Land Prize 1948 Catholic Centenary Art Prize 1948 CRTS Shell Company Prize 1948 CRTS Norman Bros Prize 1950 Victorian Artists’ Society, ‘60 Drawings’ Herald Prize 1953 Berrima Art Prize (Mural) 1955 Contemporary Art Society 1955 Contemporary Art Society, Madach Prize 1955 Adelaide Advertiser Prize 1956 Bathurst Art Prize 1960 Journalists’ Club Prize 1962 Royal Art Society of New South Wales Easter Show Prize 1963 Helena Rubenstein Art Award 1965 Roy H. Taffs Contemporary Art Society Award 1967 Darcy Morris Memorial Prize 1969 Royal Art Society of New South Wales, Portrait Prize 1975 Muswellbrook Art Prize