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Jack Smith

1928 – 2011

British artist

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About Jack Smith

Lived 1928 – 2011 (aged 82). Jack Smith was a British painter and visual artist.

Jack Smith (18 June 1928 – 11 June 2011) was a British realist and, later, abstract artist.

Life Jack Smith was born in 1928 in Sheffield, Yorkshire.

Smith studied at Sheffield College of Art (1944–1946), Saint Martin's School of Art (1948–1950) and the Royal College of Art (1950–1953). At the RCA, Smith studied under John Minton, Ruskin Spear and Carel Weight.

Work

During the 1950s, Smith's early work was in a neo-realist style known as "The Kitchen Sink School" featuring domestic subjects.

In the 1960s, Smith abandoned realism and adopted a brightly coloured, abstract style comparable to those of Wassily Kandinsky and Piet Mondrian incorporating Constructivism and Biomorphism with elements of hieroglyphic and musical notation. Smith continued to develop and work in this style and did not return to realism.

Recognition First prize at the first John Moores Liverpool Exhibition (1956) Shown at Venice Biennale (1956) Retrospective at the Whitechapel Art Gallery (1959) National Prize at Guggenheim International Awards Touring Retrospective organised by Sunderland Arts Centre (1977) 80th Birthday Retrospective at the Flowers East gallery (2008) and holds several portraits of him in its collection.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Saint Martin's School of Art, Royal College of Art
Also known as
Jack Smith (1928-2011), Jack Martin Smith, Jack Martin Smith (1928-)

People in Jack Smith's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Jack Smith's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Jack Smith?

British artist (1928–2011)

When was Jack Smith born?

Jack Smith was born on 18 June 1928 in Sheffield.

When did Jack Smith die?

Jack Smith died on 11 June 2011 in Hove.

What was Jack Smith's occupation?

Jack Smith was a painter and visual artist.

What nationality was Jack Smith?

Jack Smith was British.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Jack Smith

· Wikidata: Q6115212

· DBpedia: Jack Smith (artist)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Jack Smith. https://biography.guide/jack-smith-painter/

MLA: "Jack Smith." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/jack-smith-painter/.

Chicago: "Jack Smith." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/jack-smith-painter/.

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