Alfred Smith (bordeaux 1854 – 1936 Paris) – “mother And Children On A Wooded Path In Bordeaux”

Alfred Smith
Bordeaux 1854 – 1936 Paris
French Painter

'Mother with Children on a Wooded Path in Bordeaux'

Signature: signed lower left and dated 1883 'Alf Smith 83'
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: image size 98 x 122 cm, frame size 118 x 142 cm

Biography: Alfred Smith (1854–1936) was a French painter of English descent, born in Bordeaux. Renowned in his day, Smith earned a reputation as a master of atmospheric landscapes, gardens, and cityscapes, painting in a style that bridged Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and early Fauvism. Some of his works evoke the early paintings of Claude Monet, with their delicate handling of light and colour.

As reported in the newspaper La Vie Bordelaise, each of his solo exhibitions at the Imberti Brothers’ gallery at the end of the 19th century attracted the entire Bordeaux social, elegant, and artistic elite. Raised and trained by local landscape painters Léonce Chabry and Hippolyte Pradelles, Smith became part of a circle of artists inspired by Gustave Courbet and Camille Corot. He further refined his training under Amédée Baudit (1884) and gained the support of the distinguished painter Alfred Philippe Roll, who promoted his work.

Smith first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1880, receiving an honourable mention, and continued to exhibit regularly in France, including his 1883 showing of Le quai de Bacalan le soir. By the 1880s, he had emerged as the leading figure of the Bordeaux School, succeeding Louis Auguin, though he did not fully dedicate himself to painting until 1886.

In 1901, he moved to Paris, where he became a member of the Salon des Artistes Français and collaborated with Alfred Roll in the creation of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. Smith’s achievements were recognized with numerous awards, including a third-class medal at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1888, a bronze medal in 1889, and appointment as Chevalier of the Legion of Honour in 1894. He also won a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1900.

Smith is admired for his poetic evocations of forests, gardens, and cityscapes, rendered with subtle and nuanced color harmonies. His subjects include Bordeaux, Paris, and Venice, before discovering the Creuse Valley, whose landscapes inspired a brighter, more expressive palette. Through these works, he is often associated with the Crozant School, a loose group of artists drawn to the natural beauty of the region.

His works are held in major collections. Notable examples include Les Quais de Bordeaux, le soir (1892), acquired by the city and now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux, Sous-bois (1891), Harmonie d’été (1911), and Portrait de la mère de l’artiste at the Musée d’Orsay, and Le déjeuner sous les bois (1903) at the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia.

Alfred Smith died in Paris in 1936, leaving behind a body of work celebrated for its lyricism, refined color harmonies, and enduring sensitivity to landscape.