William E. (1913) Smith Paintings & Artwork for Sale | William E. (1913) Smith Art Value Price Guide

Oct. 03, 2024
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day.
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day. Linoleum cut on wove paper, 1938. 206x152 mm; 8⅛x6 inches, wide margins. Signed, titled and numbered 21/30 in pencil, lower margin.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 20, 2024
WILLIAM E. SMITH (AMERICAN, 1913-1997)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William E. Smith American, 1913-1997 Pay Day Linoleum cut print Signed, titled and numbered 21/30 in pencil, lower margin.
Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers
Mar. 21, 2024
Painting, William E. Smith
Est: $800 - $1,200
William E. Smith (American, 1913-1997), Untitled (Figures in Moonlight), oil on canvas, unsigned, artist studio label verso, canvas: 35.5"h x 23.5"w, overall (with frame): 36.25"h x 24.25"w
Clars Auctions
Oct. 06, 2022
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day. Linoleum cut on thin wove paper, 1938. 206x152 mm; 8 1/8x6 inches, wide margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 16/20 in pencil, lower margin. A good, dark impression of this scarce, early print. Smith made another linoleum cut of this subject, with the pose reversed; impressions dated 1941 are in the collections of Hampton University, VA, and Harmon and Harriet Kelley, San Antonio.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 04, 2022
William E. Smith, 1913-1997, Leaning Chimneys
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
William E. Smith 1913-1997 Leaning Chimneys 1939 linocut print on paper 9 x 11 inches (image) 12-1/2 x 12-1/2 inches (sheet) signed, dated, and titled. Provenance: ex-collection, Jelliffe family, founders of Karamu House Studio, Cleveland, OH. This is a very rare and desirable image for the artist.
Black Art Auction
Oct. 07, 2021
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913-1997) War Fatigue.
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913-1997) War Fatigue. Linoleum cut on wove paper, 1940. 304x254 mm; 12x10 inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 7/10 in pencil, lower margin. Another impression of this very scarce print is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. William E. Smith, alongside artists Hughie Lee-Smith, Elmer Brown, Charles Sallée, and others, formed the influential circle of African American artists who trained and exhibited at the WPA-funded Karamu House art center in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1930 and early 1940s. Smith's important, early linocuts were exhibited nationally throughout his lifetime. After his service in WWII, Smith settled in Los Angeles where he worked as both as an artist and cultural activist. He helped found the group Art West Associated in 1960, an organization formed to promote African American artists in California.
Swann Auction Galleries
Sep. 25, 2021
William E. Smith linocut
Est: $500 - $800
William E. Smith (1913-1997) "Payday''- linocut. 8 x 6''
Rachel Davis Fine Arts
Apr. 04, 2019
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) My Son, My Son.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) My Son, My Son. Linoleum cut on cream wove paper, 1941. 197x146 mm; 7 3/4x5 3/4 inches, full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A very good, dark impression of this scarce print - another impression is in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Swann Auction Galleries
Dec. 15, 2018
William E. Smith, (American, 1913-1997), 'Leaning Chimneys', linocut, 9 1/2"H x 11 1/2"W (plate), 17 1/4"H x 18 3/4"W (frame)
Est: $200 - $400
William E. Smith (American, 1913-1997) 'Leaning Chimneys' linocut signed and titled lower margin. When William Elijah Smith was twelve he left Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Cleveland. In the early 1930s, still a teenager and living on his own in extreme hardship, Smith met Rowena and Russell Jelliffe, founders of Karamu House. They aided him financially and opened him to huge creative possibilities. In this inter-racial environment Smith, who was African American, worked with Marion Bonsteel, a graduate of the Cleveland Art Institute, and with Richard Beatty, who studied at the Carnegie Institute. Smith himself taught at Karamu until 1940. During World War II Smith served in the United States Army and in 1944 won a trip to Paris in a GI art contest on the theme, 'How to Fight Mud as Well as Nazis.' After the War Smith attended the Cleveland School of Art (now the Cleveland Institute of Art). 9 1/2"H x 11 1/2"W (plate), 17 1/4"H x 18 3/4"W (frame)
Ripley Auctions
Nov. 20, 2018
William E. Smith American, 1913-1997 On Board a Ship (in the Pacific), 1945
Est: $500 - $700
William E. Smith American, 1913-1997 On Board a Ship (in the Pacific), 1945 Signed Wm. E. Smith, dated "45" and inscribed T/5 (ll) Watercolor on brown paper 10 3/4 x 8 1/2 inches Unframed Provenance: Susan Teller Gallery, New York C The Patricia and Donald Oresman Collection
DOYLE Auctioneers & Appraisers
Jun. 06, 2015
William E. Smith, (American, 1913-1997), Woman in the Tropics, c. 1946, watercolor, 17" x 13"
Est: $2,500 - $3,500
William E. Smith (American, 1913-1997) Woman in the Tropics, c. 1946 watercolor signed and dated 17" x 13"
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Apr. 02, 2015
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Matilda.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Matilda. Charcoal on cream wove paper, circa 1945-50. 406x356 mm; 16 1/2x14 inches. Inscribed in pencil (faded), lower right. Provenance: acquired directly from the artist; thence by descent to a private collection. After his army service in World War II, Smith returned to Cleveland, and attended the Cleveland School of Art (now the Cleveland Institute of Art). By 1950 he had moved to Los Angeles where he worked nights in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft, and studied at the Chouinard Art Institute from 1956-60. Bio courtesy of Susan Teller Gallery.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 02, 2015
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Poverty & Fatigue.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Poverty & Fatigue. Linoleum cut on cream wove paper, 1940. 229x203 mm; 9x8 inches, full margins. Edition of 70. Signed, titled, dated and inscribed "lino-cut" in pencil, lower margin. Another impression of this print can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jul. 24, 2014
William E. Smith, (American; 1913-1997), "Leaning Chimneys", linocut, 9" x 10 7/8".
Est: $800 - $1,200
William E. Smith (American; 1913-1997) "Leaning Chimneys" linocut Pencil signed LR. Titled in pencil LL. Smith was known as a printmaker and exhibited extensively, but examples of his work, especially from the early period such as this, are rare. Examples of his work are included in the collections of the Library of Congress, Cleveland Museum of Art, Howard University and the Oakland Museum of Art. He exhibited at the American Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1940, as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1935-41; Library of Congress, 1943; Atlanta University, 142, 1969; and the National Academy of Art and Design, 1966-68. 9" x 10 7/8".
Ripley Auctions
Jun. 13, 2014
William E. Smith
Est: $500 - $700
William E. Smith (Tennessee/Ohio, 1913-1997) POVERTY AND FATIGUE, 1940 linocut, framed, pencil signed, titled & dated image H9" W7 3/4" Provenance: Charleston, South Carolina private collection
Charlton Hall
Feb. 13, 2014
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Native Son.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Native Son. Linoleum cut, 1938. 337x152 mm; 13 1/4x6 inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 2/20 in pencil, lower margin. Smith's linoleum cuts from the late 1930s honed in on Chicago's race-based poverty; yet the adolescent in Native Son--the protypical embodiment of youthful indifference--could be in any urban center at this time. Mullen p. 89. Another impression of this print can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 30, 2013
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Day is Done, Linocut, 8.75" x 8"
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Day is Done Linocut Signed and titled lower margin. Original "Lyman Bros." label to verso. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1913, William E. Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 12, after his mother's death. At 13, he met Rowena and Russell Jeliffe, founders of Karamu House. Karamu House, originally known as the 'Playhouse Settlement', was founded as a multicultural, interracial settlement house where the arts were celebrated. Dancers, printmakers, actors, and writers all found a place here. Smith studied with artists Marion Bonsteel and Richard Beatty. He was introduced to print making and how to use brown battleship linoleum for his linocuts. Along with other Karamu House artists, like Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles Sallee, he showed his works at the Cleveland Artists Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1930's and 40's. One of these exhibitons of Karamu artists was shown at the Associated American Artists, New York City. Smith also attended the John Huntington Polytechnic Art Institute in Cleveland from 1935 to 1940 on a five year Gilpin Scholarship . After serving in World War II with the Army, he returned to study at the Cleveland School of Art with Paul Travis and at Hal Cooper's School of Advertising. When Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1950 he made a living by working in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft and teaching classes in his studio. He co-founded and exhibited with the Eleven Associated Artists' Gallery in the 1950's. Smith's linocuts were included in an exhibition called, Impressions/Expressions: Black American Graphics at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, 1979-80, and the Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1980. They were also featured in, Alone in a Crowd, Prints of the 1930s and 40s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This show traveled to the Equitable Gallery, New York; the Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey, 1992; Long Beach Museum of Art, California, 1993; New York State Museum; Yale University Art Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1996. This collection is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Smith's work was also featured in The Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Collection: Prints & Drawings from the Karamu Workshop, 1929-1941, South Wing Gallery, St. Paul"s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, 1991. He was featured in the exhibition, Yet We Still Rise, African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970 which traveled to Cleveland State University, 1996; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; and the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, 1997. His watercolor, '38th and Central' was featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The largest archive of work by William E. Smith is found at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where it is part of the Jelliffe Collection. Work by Smith can also be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Syracuse University Art Gallery, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art; Oberlin College Art Museum; Howard University; Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 8.75" x 8"
Ripley Auctions
May. 30, 2013
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Little Joy, Linocut, 8" x 6"
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Little Joy Linocut Signed and titled lower margin. Original "Lyman Bros." label to verso. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1913, William E. Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 12, after his mother's death. At 13, he met Rowena and Russell Jeliffe, founders of Karamu House. Karamu House, originally known as the 'Playhouse Settlement', was founded as a multicultural, interracial settlement house where the arts were celebrated. Dancers, printmakers, actors, and writers all found a place here. Smith studied with artists Marion Bonsteel and Richard Beatty. He was introduced to print making and how to use brown battleship linoleum for his linocuts. Along with other Karamu House artists, like Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles Sallee, he showed his works at the Cleveland Artists Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1930's and 40's. One of these exhibitons of Karamu artists was shown at the Associated American Artists, New York City. Smith also attended the John Huntington Polytechnic Art Institute in Cleveland from 1935 to 1940 on a five year Gilpin Scholarship . After serving in World War II with the Army, he returned to study at the Cleveland School of Art with Paul Travis and at Hal Cooper's School of Advertising. When Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1950 he made a living by working in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft and teaching classes in his studio. He co-founded and exhibited with the Eleven Associated Artists' Gallery in the 1950's. Smith's linocuts were included in an exhibition called, Impressions/Expressions: Black American Graphics at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, 1979-80, and the Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1980. They were also featured in, Alone in a Crowd, Prints of the 1930s and 40s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This show traveled to the Equitable Gallery, New York; the Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey, 1992; Long Beach Museum of Art, California, 1993; New York State Museum; Yale University Art Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1996. This collection is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Smith's work was also featured in The Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Collection: Prints & Drawings from the Karamu Workshop, 1929-1941, South Wing Gallery, St. Paul"s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, 1991. He was featured in the exhibition, Yet We Still Rise, African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970 which traveled to Cleveland State University, 1996; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; and the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, 1997. His watercolor, '38th and Central' was featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The largest archive of work by William E. Smith is found at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where it is part of the Jelliffe Collection. Work by Smith can also be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Syracuse University Art Gallery, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art; Oberlin College Art Museum; Howard University; Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 8" x 6"
Ripley Auctions
May. 30, 2013
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Blues, Linocut, 8.5" x 8"
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Blues Linocut Signed and titled lower margin. Original "Lyman Bros." label to verso. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1913, William E. Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 12, after his mother's death. At 13, he met Rowena and Russell Jeliffe, founders of Karamu House. Karamu House, originally known as the 'Playhouse Settlement', was founded as a multicultural, interracial settlement house where the arts were celebrated. Dancers, printmakers, actors, and writers all found a place here. Smith studied with artists Marion Bonsteel and Richard Beatty. He was introduced to print making and how to use brown battleship linoleum for his linocuts. Along with other Karamu House artists, like Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles Sallee, he showed his works at the Cleveland Artists Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1930's and 40's. One of these exhibitons of Karamu artists was shown at the Associated American Artists, New York City. Smith also attended the John Huntington Polytechnic Art Institute in Cleveland from 1935 to 1940 on a five year Gilpin Scholarship . After serving in World War II with the Army, he returned to study at the Cleveland School of Art with Paul Travis and at Hal Cooper's School of Advertising. When Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1950 he made a living by working in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft and teaching classes in his studio. He co-founded and exhibited with the Eleven Associated Artists' Gallery in the 1950's. Smith's linocuts were included in an exhibition called, Impressions/Expressions: Black American Graphics at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, 1979-80, and the Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1980. They were also featured in, Alone in a Crowd, Prints of the 1930s and 40s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This show traveled to the Equitable Gallery, New York; the Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey, 1992; Long Beach Museum of Art, California, 1993; New York State Museum; Yale University Art Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1996. This collection is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Smith's work was also featured in The Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Collection: Prints & Drawings from the Karamu Workshop, 1929-1941, South Wing Gallery, St. Paul"s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, 1991. He was featured in the exhibition, Yet We Still Rise, African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970 which traveled to Cleveland State University, 1996; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; and the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, 1997. His watercolor, '38th and Central' was featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The largest archive of work by William E. Smith is found at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where it is part of the Jelliffe Collection. Work by Smith can also be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Syracuse University Art Gallery, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art; Oberlin College Art Museum; Howard University; Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 8.5" x 8"
Ripley Auctions
May. 30, 2013
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Pay Day, Linocut, 8.75" x 6.25" (plate)
Est: $1,000 - $2,000
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Pay Day Linocut Signed and title lower margin. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1913, William E. Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 12, after his mother's death. At 13, he met Rowena and Russell Jeliffe, founders of Karamu House. Karamu House, originally known as the 'Playhouse Settlement', was founded as a multicultural, interracial settlement house where the arts were celebrated. Dancers, printmakers, actors, and writers all found a place here. Smith studied with artists Marion Bonsteel and Richard Beatty. He was introduced to print making and how to use brown battleship linoleum for his linocuts. Along with other Karamu House artists, like Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles Sallee, he showed his works at the Cleveland Artists Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1930's and 40's. One of these exhibitons of Karamu artists was shown at the Associated American Artists, New York City. Smith also attended the John Huntington Polytechnic Art Institute in Cleveland from 1935 to 1940 on a five year Gilpin Scholarship . After serving in World War II with the Army, he returned to study at the Cleveland School of Art with Paul Travis and at Hal Cooper's School of Advertising. When Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1950 he made a living by working in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft and teaching classes in his studio. He co-founded and exhibited with the Eleven Associated Artists' Gallery in the 1950's. Smith's linocuts were included in an exhibition called, Impressions/Expressions: Black American Graphics at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, 1979-80, and the Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1980. They were also featured in, Alone in a Crowd, Prints of the 1930s and 40s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This show traveled to the Equitable Gallery, New York; the Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey, 1992; Long Beach Museum of Art, California, 1993; New York State Museum; Yale University Art Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1996. This collection is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Smith's work was also featured in The Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Collection: Prints & Drawings from the Karamu Workshop, 1929-1941, South Wing Gallery, St. Paul"s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, 1991. He was featured in the exhibition, Yet We Still Rise, African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970 which traveled to Cleveland State University, 1996; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; and the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, 1997. His watercolor, '38th and Central' was featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The largest archive of work by William E. Smith is found at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where it is part of the Jelliffe Collection. Work by Smith can also be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Syracuse University Art Gallery, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art; Oberlin College Art Museum; Howard University; Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 8.75" x 6.25" (plate)
Ripley Auctions
May. 30, 2013
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Rooftops, Watercolor on paper, 8.25" x 12.75"
Est: $1,500 - $2,500
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Rooftops Watercolor on paper Signed "Wm. E. Smith" and dated "46" LR. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1913, William E. Smith moved to Cleveland at the age of 12, after his mother's death. At 13, he met Rowena and Russell Jeliffe, founders of Karamu House. Karamu House, originally known as the 'Playhouse Settlement', was founded as a multicultural, interracial settlement house where the arts were celebrated. Dancers, printmakers, actors, and writers all found a place here. Smith studied with artists Marion Bonsteel and Richard Beatty. He was introduced to print making and how to use brown battleship linoleum for his linocuts. Along with other Karamu House artists, like Hughie Lee-Smith and Charles Sallee, he showed his works at the Cleveland Artists Exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art in the 1930's and 40's. One of these exhibitons of Karamu artists was shown at the Associated American Artists, New York City. Smith also attended the John Huntington Polytechnic Art Institute in Cleveland from 1935 to 1940 on a five year Gilpin Scholarship . After serving in World War II with the Army, he returned to study at the Cleveland School of Art with Paul Travis and at Hal Cooper's School of Advertising. When Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1950 he made a living by working in the sign division of Lockheed Aircraft and teaching classes in his studio. He co-founded and exhibited with the Eleven Associated Artists' Gallery in the 1950's. Smith's linocuts were included in an exhibition called, Impressions/Expressions: Black American Graphics at the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, 1979-80, and the Gallery of Art, Howard University, Washington, DC, 1980. They were also featured in, Alone in a Crowd, Prints of the 1930s and 40s by African-American Artists from the Collection of Reba and Dave Williams. This show traveled to the Equitable Gallery, New York; the Newark Museum of Art, New Jersey, 1992; Long Beach Museum of Art, California, 1993; New York State Museum; Yale University Art Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, 1994; and the Brooklyn Museum, New York, 1996. This collection is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Smith's work was also featured in The Russell and Rowena Jelliffe Collection: Prints & Drawings from the Karamu Workshop, 1929-1941, South Wing Gallery, St. Paul"s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, 1991. He was featured in the exhibition, Yet We Still Rise, African American Art in Cleveland, 1920-1970 which traveled to Cleveland State University, 1996; Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown; and the Riffe Gallery, Columbus, 1997. His watercolor, '38th and Central' was featured on the cover of the exhibition catalogue. The largest archive of work by William E. Smith is found at the Cleveland State University Art Gallery where it is part of the Jelliffe Collection. Work by Smith can also be found in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Syracuse University Art Gallery, NY; Cleveland Museum of Art; Oberlin College Art Museum; Howard University; Library of Congress, Washington, DC. 8.25" x 12.75"
Ripley Auctions
Feb. 14, 2013
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Two Soldiers (Nostalgia).
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Two Soldiers (Nostalgia). Watercolor on wove paper, 1945. 235x160 mm; 9 1/4x6 3/8 inches. Signed and dated "1/5" and "45" in ink, lower right recto. Titled in pencil, upper left verso. Provenance: the artist; Marjorie Witt Johnson; John Axelrod, Boston (2000); the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (2011). During World War II, Smith served in the United States Army, possibly with an all-black unit that participated in the famous Red Ball Express, a transportation and supply mission in France. In 1944, he won a trip to Paris in a GI art contest on the theme "How to Fight Mud as Well as Nazis." Smith made sketches of fellow GIs, and painted other watercolor scenes in France and Belgium from 1944-45. Biography courtesy of Susan Teller Gallery.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 14, 2013
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Bill as Emperor Jones.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Bill as Emperor Jones. Linoleum cut on wove paper, circa 1940. 232x204 mm; 9 1/8x8 1/8 inches, wide margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A dark and richly inked impression. Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones was one of several plays produced by the WPA's Federal Theatre Project, in which blacks and black themes were featured.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 14, 2013
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) But There Ain't No Back to a Merry-Go-Round.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) But There Ain't No Back to a Merry-Go-Round. Linoleum cut on wove paper, circa 1940. 211x152 mm; 8 3/8x6 inches, full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A very good, dark impression of this scarce print.
Swann Auction Galleries
Apr. 21, 2012
William E. Smith, (African American; 1913 - 1997), Leaning Chimneys, Woodcut, 8" x 10"
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
William E. Smith (African American; 1913 - 1997) Leaning Chimneys Woodcut Edition 14/20. c.1938. Pencil signed and dated LR. Titled in pencil LL. Smith was known as a printmaker and exhibited extensively, but examples of his work, especially from the early period such as this, are rare. Examples of his work are included in the collections of the Library of Congress, Cleveland Museum of Art, Howard University and the Oakland Museum of Art. He exhibited at the American Negro Exposition in Chicago in 1940, as well as the Cleveland Museum of Art, 1935-41; Library of Congress, 1943; Atlanta University, 142, 1969; and the National Academy of Art and Design, 1966-68. 8" x 10"
Ripley Auctions
Feb. 16, 2012
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997) Pay Day. Linoleum cut on thin wove paper, 1938. 206x152 mm; 8 1/8x6 inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 18/20 in pencil, lower margin. A good, dark impression of this scarce, early print. Provenance: estate of Varnette Honeywood; thence by descent to the current owner. Smith made another linoleum cut of this subject, with the pose reversed--impressions dated 1941 are in the collections of Hampton University, VA, and Harmon and Harriet Kelley, San Antonio.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 06, 2011
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Sleeping Madonna.
Est: $1,000 - $1,500
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Sleeping Madonna. Linoleum cut, circa 1940. 203x152 mm; 8x6 inches, full margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A very dark, richly inked impression of this scarce print.
Swann Auction Galleries
Feb. 17, 2011
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Native Son.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1977) Native Son. Linoleum cut, 1938. 337x152 mm; 13 1/4x6 inches, full margins. Signed, titled, dated and numbered 2/39 in pencil, lower margin. A very good, dark impression of this scarce print. Smith's linoleum cuts from the late 1930s honed in on Chicago's race-based poverty; yet the adolescent in Native Son--the protypical embodiment of youthful indifference--could be in any urban center at this time. Mullen p. 89. Another impression of this print can be found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Swann Auction Galleries
May. 23, 2010
William Edward Smith (African-American, b. 1913),
Est: $1,800 - $2,200
William Edward Smith (African-American, b. 1913), "Figure," 1946, watercolor, 17" x 13", signed and dated lower right, unframed
Toomey & Co. Auctioneers
Oct. 07, 2008
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997 ) Nobody Knows.
Est: $3,000 - $5,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - 1997 ) Nobody Knows. Linoleum cut on tan wove paper, 1938. 250x182 mm; 9 7/8x8 1/8 inches, full margins. Edition size unknown. Signed, titled and dated in pencil, lower right. A very good, dark impression of this scarce print. Teller 9.
Swann Auction Galleries
Jun. 30, 2008
Polynesian Woman
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
William Smith (1913-1987) Polynesian Woman initialed 'WES' (lower right) watercolor, ink and graphite on paper 9 x 8 in. (22.9 x 20.3 cm.) Painted in 1953.
Christie's
Oct. 04, 2007
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - ) Pay Day.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - ) Pay Day. Linoleum cut on thin cream wove paper, circa 1941. 203x152 mm; 8x6 inches, 1/2- to 1 1/8 inch margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A good, dark impression of this scarce, early print. Smith made another linoleum cut of this subject, with the pose reversed - impressions dated 1941 are in the collections of Hampton University, VA, and Harmon and Harriet Kelley, San Antonio, TX.
Swann Auction Galleries
Oct. 04, 2007
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - ) Bill Johnson as Emperor Jones.
Est: $2,000 - $3,000
WILLIAM E. SMITH (1913 - ) Bill Johnson as Emperor Jones. Linoleum cut on stiff wove paper, circa 1940. 232x204 mm; 9 1/8x8 1/8 inches, wide margins. Signed and titled in pencil, lower margin. A dark and thickly-inked impression. Illustrated in Samella Lewis, African American Art and Artists, ill. 263, p. 255. Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones was one of several plays produced by the WPA's Federal Theatre Project in which blacks and black themes were featured.
Swann Auction Galleries