Details

Name

John Guthrie Spence Smith

Brief Biography

1880 - 1951, Scottish

Occupation

Artist

Description

John Guthrie Spence Smith was born in Perth in 1880, the fourth child of Grace Farquharson and Joseph Smith, linen draper and co-partner in firm of J. & D. Smith. His three older brothers all died tragically young – David in 1876 aged 9 months, Joseph Douglas in 1881 aged 5 and the oldest Andrew, a Writer to the Signet in Edinburgh, of meningitis in 1905 aged 30. Their father passed away before Smith’s 1st birthday, aged 47. When Smith was only 2 years old he had severe scarlet fever (or possibly whooping cough or measles) which left him Deaf. He grew up at Corsiehill House, the home of his paternal uncle David Smith (1835-1900) and aunt Jane Cormack (1842-1922) and attended a Deaf school in Dundee before enrolling at Dundee College of Art. He then moved to Edinburgh, training at the Edinburgh College of Art and Royal Scottish Academy Life Class, financially supported by his inheritance. At the RSA he studied under Robert Burns and Charles Hodge Mackie, won several prizes and met fellow artists Eric Robertson, Alick Sturrock and David Sutherland, with whom he later became part of the Edinburgh Group. He may have learnt to sign letters at Deaf school in Dundee but he was also an excellent lip reader and held conversations with his non-Deaf friends using paper and pencil. He was nicknamed ‘Dummy Smith’ but was popular, known for his humour and caricatures. By 1909 he was living permanently in Edinburgh with his mother at 6 St Vincent Street. Whereas many of his friends fought in World War I, Smith was prevented because of his Deafness. In 1934, after his mother’s death, he moved in with his friend William Mervyn Glass’ family at 38 Drummond Place, Edinburgh.

He first exhibited at the Sandeman Library’s Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1904 where he won a bronze medal for a series of watercolour designs for postcards. He was prolific, exhibiting at the Royal Scottish Academy almost every year from 1909 to 1952 and at the RGI from 1912 to 1957. He was prolific – exhibiting at the RSA from 1909 to 1952 and at the Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts from 1912 to 1957. In 1912 and 1913 he exhibited as part of The Edinburgh Group, along with David Alison, J. R. Barclay, H. A. Cameron, Glass, William O. Hutchison, Robertson, J. W. Somerville, Sturrock and Sutherland – firstly at Doig, Wheatley and Wilson’s George Street Gallery and then in the New Gallery, Shandwick Place where they were joined by Cecile Walton. Dorothy Johnstone and Mary Newbery joined in 1919, and F. C. B. Cadell, Archibald McGlashan, Anne Redpath and Benno Schotz were invited to exhibit with them in three further exhibitions in 1919-21. Smith was elected an Associate of the RSA in 1930 and a full Academician in 1939.