Gladys Nelson Smith (1890-1980)
Gladys Nelson Smith (1890-1980)
Born and Raised on a farm near Chelsea, Kansas, Gladys Nelson Smith studied under William Griffith at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, John Sloan at the Art Student League of New York, and Edmund Tarbell at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, DC. Best known for her depictions of motherhood and children, she garnered widespread praise for their beautiful composition and color palette. She exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery and with the Society of Washington Arts, winning the popular prize at the 48th anniversary exhibition in 1939. In 1941, she and her husband relocated from DC's metro area to Chevy Chase, Maryland, where she found inspiration in the yards, trees, and flowers she grew in her own garden. In the 1950s, with Modernism on the rise, Smith felt increasingly frustrated by the lack of recognition and withdrew from the public art scene. Today, her paintings are in the collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio, among others.
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