J. Andre Smith

Jules Andre Smith (1880–1959) was a war artist for the United States Army during World War I. He was born in Hong Kong, lived a few years in Hamburg, Germany as a child after his father died, and moved with his mother and family to New York City. He attended schools and college in New York State, getting an undergraduate and graduate degree in architecture from Cornell University. He eventually became a well-renowned artist, known for his etching and printmaking. His time as a war artist developed his skills, and he would continue his artistic lifestyle throughout his life. He eventually retired to Florida, where he established his Research Studio, now the Art and History Museums Maitland, which is now designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Biography

In 1917, upon America's entry into the war, Smith enlisted in the Army Reserve, where he was given officer training and became a first lieutenant in the Engineer Reserve Corps. He was soon promoted to captain and called to active duty as an artist assigned to the American Camouflage Corps, 40th Engineers, under the command of Aymar Embury, the celebrated New York architect, who organized a unit of eight professional artists to document the activities of the American Expeditionary Force in France, the same unit in which fellow architect-artist Louis Conrad Rosenberg served. Since he was the only one of the artists with any military training, Smith was designated the senior officer of the group. Over the next year he drew upon his architectural training to produce detailed pictures of buildings and places affected by the war, what he called "disquieting and somber images of the war."