Smith, Sir Matthew

Sir Matthew Smith, in full Matthew Arnold Bracy Smith, (born October 22, 1879, Halifax, Yorkshire, England—died September 29, 1959, London), English painter of colourful still lifes, flowers, portraits and nudes, and landscapes of Cornwall, England, and the south of France. He is known for his use of bold colours in his compositions, and for that he is typically associated with Fauvism.

In his teens Smith was guided by his father, a wire manufacturer, to try his hand at industrial work. In 1901, having found no satisfaction after several years in the family wire factory, Smith began studying design at an art school in Manchester, England. In 1905 he moved to London and enrolled at the Slade School of Fine Art. He left England for France in 1908 to paint there. In 1910 he studied briefly in the Paris studio of Henri Matisse, from whom, it is presumed, he acquired the Fauvist penchant for using bold coloration. He married artist Gwen Salmond in 1912, and they had two sons (in 1915 and 1916). Though initially bypassed for military service in World War I due to his poor eyesight, a condition he had dealt with since his youth, Smith was eventually called up to serve in late 1916. He was severely wounded and hospitalized during the war but recovered and was promoted to lieutenant in 1918.

After the war, Smith moved to the outskirts of Paris. In 1919 he met Irish painter Roderic O’Conor. Smith formed an important friendship with O’Conor, who had been closely affiliated with Paul Gauguin and was working in the Post-Impressionist style. O’Conor was one of the leading artistic influences on Smith’s developing style, especially with respect to landscapes. Smith spent some of 1920 in Cornwall in England, painting landscapes that featured deep, rich colours and defined lines (e.g., Cornish Church and A Winding Road, Cornish Landscape, both 1920). That year he also joined the London Group (an association of progressive artists) and began exhibiting with them. Smith met and fell in love with British artist Vera Cunningham in about 1922 and left (but did not divorce) his wife to be with her. Cunningham became the model for many of his nudes of the 1920s and ’30s.

Smith returned to London in 1940. There, in addition to still lifes and landscapes, he painted figure compositions and some portraits of artists, actors, and writers, including four of painter Augustus John, actress Jean Simmons (c. 1948–49), and writer Roald Dahl (c. 1944), who was a fan (and owner) of Smith’s work.He had a successful late career in London. He exhibited frequently, twice (1938 and 1950) at the Venice Biennale. In 1949 Smith was made Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) and was knighted five years later.