Howard Smith

Howard Smith (April 17, 1928 – February 4, 2021) was an American-born Finnish designer, ceramicist, multidisciplinary visual artist, and educator. Additionally he had worked a textile designer, sculptor, assemblage artist, collagist, quilter, painter, and serigrapher. Smith was one of only a handful of Black post-war designers, and his textiles and ceramics were produced by Scandinavia’s top design firms.

Early life and education Howard Smith was born on April 17, 1928, in Moorestown, New Jersey. Smith served from 1949 to 1958 in the United States Army, stationed in Europe. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1960 until 1962. In 1962, Smith was invited to participate in a cultural festival in Helsinki called, "Young America Presents", and unbeknownst to him hosted by the Central Intelligence Agency. While working at Arabia he met artist Erna Aaltonen, whom he would later marry.

In 1976, Smith moved to Los Angeles, with the support of Samella Lewis. The couple moved in 1996 to Fiskars, Uusimaa, Finland, and worked independently. In 2001, Smith was awarded the . A retrospective of his work, The Art and Design of Howard Smith (2025–2026), was held at the Palm Springs Art Museum in California.