Available Works or Citations from William E. Smith
A highly skilled printmaker, William Elijah Smith specialized in genre scenes of working-class African-American life in Cleveland. Born in Chattanooga, Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 13 and became involved in the Karamu House, learning print making and stage design. He studied art at the Huntington Polytechnic Institute, 1933-1934. During his time he began teaching at Karamu House…
Prints became a popular art form in the 1930s during the Great Depression in the United States. Artists like Smith exploited the expressionist power of such techniques as woodcutting and linoleum cutting, carving deep furrows into the print block to create stark contrasts of black and white. One of several African American printmakers who gathered around the Karamu House in…
African American artist William E. Smith was affiliated with the Karamu House in Cleveland in the 1930s. Karamu House, which still thrives today, is one of the oldest African American theaters and art educational institutions in the United States. This work is indicative of the artist’s desire to bring the struggles of the Black community to broader public visibility during…
William E. Smith (American 1913-1997)
William E. Smith (American, 1913-1997) Linocut on prints