Vincent Smith

Vincent DaCosta Smith (December 12, 1929 – December 27, 2003) was an American artist, painter, printmaker and teacher. He was known for his depictions of black life.

Early life Vincent DaCosta Smith was born on December 12, 1929, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, to Beresford Leopole Smith and Louise Etheline Todd. Both were immigrants from Barbados. He was raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn and Smith drew what he saw around him. He attended an integrated school where he studied piano and the alto sax.

worked a range of jobs before he became a full-time artist. At 16, he worked for the Lackawanna Railroad repairing tracks. At 17, Smith enlisted in the army and traveled with his brigade for a year. It wasn't until after his time in the army that Smith began to paint and printmaking. At the age of 22, Smith was working in a post office where he grew to be friends with fellow artist Tom Boutis. he started taking official classes at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, and studied painting, etching, and woodblock printmaking. Smith's work depicts the rhythms and intricacies of black life through his prints and paintings. Many of his paintings and prints rely heavily on patterns. During this year he was deeply inspired by the customs and lifestyle of the native people. Newark Museum of Art, Davidson Art Center, Fitzwilliam Museum, Brooklyn Museum, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, among others.

Exhibitions Over the course of his career, he had over 25 one-man shows and had his work shown in over 30 group shows.

Vincent D. Smith had shown in a range of galleries and museums over his life-span. In 1970, he had his first individual exhibition at the Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. His first retrospective was in 1989 at the Schenectady Museum in Schenectady, New York.

Solo shows:

1974 - The Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine 1974 - Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, New York 1989 - Schenectady Museum (Retrospective 1964-1989), Schenectady, New York

Awards and honors

1959 – John Hay Whitney Fellowship, John Hay Whitney Foundation, New York City, New York 1967 – Artist in Residence, Smithsonian Conference Center 1968 – Grant, The American Academy and National Institute of Arts and Letters, New York 1971 – Creative Public Service Award for the Cultural Council Foundation, New York 1973 – National Endowment of the Arts and Humanities Travel Grant, New York 1973-1974 – Childe Hassam Purchase Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York City, New York 1974 – Thomas P. Clarke Prize, National Academy of Design, New York 1981 – Windsor and Newton Award, National Society of Painters in Casein and Acrylic, New York. 1985-1986 – Artist-in-Residence, Kenkeleba House Gallery, New York.

Works Below are some selected works:

Study for Mural at Boys and Girls High School, 1972, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York A Moment Supreme, 1972, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York The Triumph of B.L.S., 1973, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York Jonkonnu Festival, 1996, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

Murals

Mural for Crotona/Tremont Social Service Center, The Human Resource Administration, New York, New York 1980 Mural for Oberia D. Dempsey Multi-Service Center of Central Harlem, New York, New York 1989

Publications

Print portfolios

Book illustrations

Amiri Baraka (LE Roi Jones) and Aminia Baraka The Music: Reflections on Jazz and Blues. William Morrow Company, New York, 1987 Amiri Baraka; The Kaleidoscopic Torch, James B. Gwynne, ed., Stepping Stones Press, 1985 Marguerite P. Dolch, Stories from Africa, Garrard Publishing Company, Campaign, Illinois, 1975