Joseph Lindon Smith
Encyclopedia
Joseph Lindon Smith), was an American painter
, best known for his extraordinarily faithful and lively representations of antiquities, especially Egyptian tomb reliefs. He was a founding member of the art colony at Dublin, New Hampshire
.
, on October 11, 1863. Interested in studying art, he was schooled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
.
In the fall of 1883, Smith sailed to Paris with his friend and fellow student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Frank Weston Benson
; They shared an apartment in Paris while they studied at the Académie Julian
(1883–85) under William-Adolphe Bouguereau
, Jules Joseph Lefebvre
, and Gustave Boulanger
.
Smith spent several years traveling in Greece and Italy, often in company with his friend, the American painter Frank Weston Benson
, who painted a memorable portrait of the young Smith (1884). While in Venice
on one of these excursions, Smith met Isabella Stewart Gardner
(1840–1924), who became a lifelong friend and supporter.
.
Corinna Lindon Smith wrote a lively personal memoir, Interesting People: Eighty Years with the Great and Nearly Great, which is an important source of material on the movers and shakers of her day, especially writers and publishers.
. His paintings of Nile
scenes and antiquities quickly brought him to the attention of Phoebe Hearst
, who was underwriting excavations at Giza for the University of California
, and Dr. George Andrew Reisner, the director of the expedition who was later to become a professor of Egyptology
at Harvard University
and curator of the Egyptian collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reisner and other archaeologists enlisted Smith to document the fragile wall paintings in tombs that were just then coming to light.
His memoir, Tombs, Temples, and Ancient Art, was published after his death, on October 19, 1950. Edited by his wife, Corinna, the book is a riveting, first-hand account of the excavations at Giza and in the Valley of the Kings
in their greatest period of discovery (1899–1950). Smith was often among the first to enter a newly discovered tomb and knew most of the personalities at work in the area, including Lord George Carnarvon, Howard Carter
, Gaston Maspero
, and Theodore M. Davis
. In many cases, his paintings are the best surviving documentation of newly exposed, fragile antiquities, whose polychromy did not long survive the change of atmosphere.
, publishers Charles Scribner
and Henry Holt
and whose visitors included Isabella Stewart Gardner, poet Amy Lowell
, Mark Twain
, and painter John Singer Sargent
.
Smith was noted in the community for his love of theatricals, and part of his Loon Point property was landscaped and decorated for these performances.
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, best known for his extraordinarily faithful and lively representations of antiquities, especially Egyptian tomb reliefs. He was a founding member of the art colony at Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,597 at the 2010 census. It is home to both the Dublin School and Yankee Magazine.-History:...
.
Background
Smith was born in Pawtucket, Rhode IslandPawtucket, Rhode Island
Pawtucket is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 71,148 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth largest city in the state.-History:...
, on October 11, 1863. Interested in studying art, he was schooled at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is an undergraduate and graduate college located in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the visual arts. It is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in partnership with Tufts University...
.
In the fall of 1883, Smith sailed to Paris with his friend and fellow student at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson, frequently referred to as Frank W. Benson, was an American artist from Salem, Massachusetts known for his Realistic portraits, American Impressionist paintings, watercolors and etchings. He began his career painting portraits of distinguished families and murals for the...
; They shared an apartment in Paris while they studied at the Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
(1883–85) under William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau
William-Adolphe Bouguereau was a French academic painter. William Bouguereau was a traditionalist; in his realistic genre paintings he used mythological themes, making modern interpretations of Classical subjects, with an emphasis on the female human body.-Life and career :William-Adolphe...
, Jules Joseph Lefebvre
Jules Joseph Lefebvre
Jules Joseph Lefebvre was a French figure painter.Lefebvre entered the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in 1852 and was a pupil of Léon Cogniet. He won the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1861. Between 1855 and 1898, he exhibited 72 portraits in the Paris Salon...
, and Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger was a French figure painter known for his Neo-Grec style. He was born at Paris, studied with Delaroche and Jollivet, and in 1849 took the Prix de Rome. His paintings are prime examples of academic art of the time, particularly history painting...
.
"The noise level in the Académie JulianAcadémie JulianThe Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
is always at a constant rumble: the scraping of benches on the floor as the artists jockey for a better view of the model, the lively banter of dozens of young men in three or four different languages, the swish and dab of brushes against canvas. The air in the studio is warm and full of the mingled scents of linseed oil and turpentine, damp wool jackets and the smoke from pipes and cigarettes. In one corner Frank Benson concentrates on putting the finishing touches to a portrait of the model, a gaunt old man. Wiping his brush on his smock, he waves to his friend, Joseph Lindon Smith, and they race down three flights of stairs to breathe the fresh air. That evening, over a meager meal in their fourth-floor rooms on Paris’s Right Bank, the two make plans to get out of the city for a weekend."
Smith spent several years traveling in Greece and Italy, often in company with his friend, the American painter Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson, frequently referred to as Frank W. Benson, was an American artist from Salem, Massachusetts known for his Realistic portraits, American Impressionist paintings, watercolors and etchings. He began his career painting portraits of distinguished families and murals for the...
, who painted a memorable portrait of the young Smith (1884). While in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
on one of these excursions, Smith met Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner – founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts....
(1840–1924), who became a lifelong friend and supporter.
Marriage
Smith married Corinna Putnam in 1899, and for decades they spent the winter months in Egypt or Latin America and the summer months in Dublin, New Hampshire, on the shores of Dublin PondDublin Pond
Dublin Pond or Dublin Lake is a water body located in Cheshire County in southwestern New Hampshire, United States, in the town of Dublin. The pond lies at an elevation of 1,480 feet above sea level, near the height of land between the Connecticut River/Long Island Sound watershed to the west...
.
Corinna Lindon Smith wrote a lively personal memoir, Interesting People: Eighty Years with the Great and Nearly Great, which is an important source of material on the movers and shakers of her day, especially writers and publishers.
Egyptian influence
In 1898, Smith decided on a whim to visit EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. His paintings of Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
scenes and antiquities quickly brought him to the attention of Phoebe Hearst
Phoebe Hearst
Phoebe Apperson Hearst was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. She was also the mother of William Randolph Hearst.-Biography:...
, who was underwriting excavations at Giza for the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, and Dr. George Andrew Reisner, the director of the expedition who was later to become a professor of Egyptology
Egyptology
Egyptology is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious practices in the AD 4th century. A practitioner of the discipline is an “Egyptologist”...
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and curator of the Egyptian collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Reisner and other archaeologists enlisted Smith to document the fragile wall paintings in tombs that were just then coming to light.
His memoir, Tombs, Temples, and Ancient Art, was published after his death, on October 19, 1950. Edited by his wife, Corinna, the book is a riveting, first-hand account of the excavations at Giza and in the Valley of the Kings
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings , less often called the Valley of the Gates of the Kings , is a valley in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom .The valley stands on the west bank of...
in their greatest period of discovery (1899–1950). Smith was often among the first to enter a newly discovered tomb and knew most of the personalities at work in the area, including Lord George Carnarvon, Howard Carter
Howard Carter
Howard Carter may refer to:* Howard Carter , English archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamun's tomb* Howard Carter , American basketball player...
, Gaston Maspero
Gaston Maspero
Gaston Camille Charles Maspero was a French Egyptologist.-Life:Gaston Maspero was born in Paris to parents of Lombard origin. While at school he showed a special taste for history, and by the age of fourteen he was already interested in hieroglyphic writing...
, and Theodore M. Davis
Theodore M. Davis
Theodore M. Davis was an American lawyer and is best known for his excavations in Egypt's Valley of the Kings between 1902 and 1914.-Biography:...
. In many cases, his paintings are the best surviving documentation of newly exposed, fragile antiquities, whose polychromy did not long survive the change of atmosphere.
Dublin art colony
Smith's house at Loon Point formed an important nucleus of the Dublin Art Colony, whose regular members included the painters Abbott Thayer and Rockwell KentRockwell Kent
Rockwell Kent was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, and writer.- Biography :Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York, the same year as fellow American artists George Bellows and Edward Hopper...
, publishers Charles Scribner
Charles Scribner
Charles Scribner is the name of several members of a New York publishing family associated with Charles Scribner's Sons:*Charles Scribner I *Charles Scribner II *Charles Scribner III *Charles Scribner IV...
and Henry Holt
Henry Holt
Henry Holt , was a book publisher and author.Henry Holt was born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 3, 1840.He graduated from Yale in 1862....
and whose visitors included Isabella Stewart Gardner, poet Amy Lowell
Amy Lowell
Amy Lawrence Lowell was an American poet of the imagist school from Brookline, Massachusetts who posthumously won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1926.- Personal life:...
, Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, and painter John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
.
Smith was noted in the community for his love of theatricals, and part of his Loon Point property was landscaped and decorated for these performances.
Museums
Smith's works are among many collections. The museums with significant holdings include:- Fitchburg Art MuseumFitchburg Art MuseumThe Fitchburg Art Museum is a regional art museum based in Fitchburg, Worcester County, Massachusetts, USA.Founded in 1925 through a bequest of artist, collector, and educator Eleanor Norcross, the museum has 14 galleries showcasing American and European paintings, prints, and ceramics, as well as...
- Isabella Stewart Gardner MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumThe Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
- Museum of Fine Arts, BostonMuseum of Fine Arts, BostonThe Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
- Fogg Museum at Harvard University.