Description
Beautiful Cubist forest painting by Charlotte Smith. Prolific in painting and ceramics, Charlotte Smith left behind quite a body of work. This painting is the last of several we purchased from her estate upon her passing. The Decatur, Georgia artist’s paintings largely focused on botanical subjects. There were several compositions of trees and flowers. Using Smith’s other work as a reference, one can conclude that this image is a sort of deconstructed representation of trees. Smith’s work varies from representational to Impressionist and Abstract. This piece is perhaps the MOST abstract of all her paintings. The midnight blue forms at the center of the multi-color masses take the shape of trunks and branches reaching out into a tree canopy. These blue trunks and branches serve as planar demarcations, creating a multi-faceted Cubist aesthetic. In comparison to Smith’s larger body of work, this painting is the most intriguing for it’s inventive technique. Smith is clearly influenced by Cubism, a departure from her typical Impressionist style. However, Smith creates her own brand of Cubism by tempering it with the painterly touch of Cezanne and her own romantic notions. The painting is housed in it’s original cerused gray and black wood frame, vintage 1960s.
