Born in rural Lewis in 1926, Donald John Smith was – wrote Gray’s School of Art Principal Ian Fleming in 1958 – ‘the outstanding student of his year … unquestionably a man of great ability as an artist.” He would go on to be exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, Society of Scottish Artists, Aberdeen Artists, An Lanntair and elsewhere. His painting acknowledged movements in Europe and America, but remained resolutely local in its subject. From his studio on the West Side of Lewis from 1974 to his death in 2014, his intense, lyrical images of Island fishermen and women celebrate the indomitability of the human spirit. A landmark exhibition.
Accompanying the show is ‘Donald Smith, The Paintings of an Islander’, published by Acair. Richly illustrated with drawings, paintings and portraits, along with insightful essays in Gaelic and English.
This exhibition is curated by Christine Morrison and Jonathan Smith.