biography of Leon Polk SMITH (1906-1996)

Birth place: Chickasha, OK

Addresses: NYC; Shoreham, NY

Profession: Painter, sculptor, lecturer, teacher

Studied: Central State College (B.A., 1934); Columbia Univ. (M.A., 1938).

Exhibited: BM, 1942-44, 1995 (retrospective); AIC, 1943, 1947; WMAA; SFMA, 1944; Telfair Acad. Art, 1941; MMA, 1943; NY, 1941 (solo), 1943 (solo), 1946 (solo), 1960 ("Construction Geometry In Painting"); Mus. Bellas Artes, 1962 (solo); Corcoran Gal biennials, 1963, 1965; Galeria Müller, Stuttgart, Germany, 1964 (solo); "New Shapes of Color," Stedelijk Mus., Amsterdam, Holland, 1966; San Francisco Mus. & Rose Mus., 1968 (retrospective). Other awards: grants, Longview Fndn, 1956, Nat. Council Arts, 1967; Tamarind, 1968; Guggenheim fellow, 1944

Member: Nat. Educ. Assn.

Work: Guggenheim Mus; MMA; MoMA; Mus. Bellas Artes, Caracas; Cleveland Mus.; Indiana Mus. Mod. Art; Univ. Arizona; Univ. Georgia

Comments: Known for his geometric abstractions, he influenced painters Ellsworth Kelley, Jack Youngerman, and Al Held. Teaching: lecturer, Brandeis Univ., 1968; artist-in-residence, Univ. Calif., Davis, 1972.

Sources: WW73; WW47.