James David Smillie

James David Smillie (January 16, 1833 – September 14, 1909), American artist, was born in New York City.

His father, James Smillie (1807–1885), a Scottish engraver, emigrated to New York in 1829, was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1851, did much, with his brother William Cumming (1813–1908), to develop the engraving of bank-notes, and was an excellent landscape-engraver.

The son studied with him and in the National Academy of Design; engraved on steel vignettes for bank-notes and some illustrations, notably F. O. C. Darley's pictures for James Fenimore Cooper's novels; was elected an associate of the National Academy in 1865—the year after he first began painting and an academician in 1876; and was a founder (1866) of the American Water Color Society, of which he was treasurer in 1866-1873 and president in 1873-1878, and of the New York Etching Club.

Among his paintings, in oils, are "Evening among the Sierras" (1876) and "The Cliffs of Normandy" (1885), and in water colour, "A Scrub Race" (1876) and "The Passing Herd" (1888). He wrote and illustrated the article on the Yosemite in Picturesque America.

His brother, George Henry Smillie was also a painter. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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  • VIAF: 62351142
Persondata
Name Smillie, James David
Alternative names
Short description American artist
Date of birth January 16, 1833
Place of birth
Date of death September 14, 1909
Place of death

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