David Roland Smith was an American painter and sculptor renown for his Cubist and Abstract style. David Smith was born in Decatur, Indiana in the year 1906. His sculpture works were often public sized commissions made of steel that featured basic geometric shapes.
Smith briefly attended Ohio University and Notre Dame University before leaving college to become a full time welder in Indiana. He would move to New York City a few years later.
Below a sculpture by David Smith from the campus of the University California at Los Angeles:
Smith studied at the Art Student’s League of New York City.
He was married to fellow artist Dorothy Dehner. When the couple was first married they bought a farm. The era of the Great Depression soon took place. The couple had more than 60 acres of land, but no electricity or running water in the house. The two were very proud of the way they managed themselves during this difficult time period.
During the time of World War 2, with resources being scarce, the artist concentrated on painting rather than sculpting.
David Rolland Smith was killed in an automobile accident in 1965.
In this clip a great interview with David Smith talking about how Cubism influenced his artwork. Some works are shown at the 3 minute mark of the clip:
price range information: Works range from $10,000 to $500,000. The artist produced many works in oils, inks, and watercolor.
The artist started to produce his large and public sized works after receiving a Guggenheim Fellowship.
What a great combination of basic shapes and raw materials. I found some surface qualities to be similar to the Shona and Inuit carvers.
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