Gordon Smith: The Act of Painting

M. Wayne Cunningham is a past executive director of the Saskatchewan
Arts Board and the former director of Academic and Career Programs at
East Kootenay Community College.

This attractively designed and stunningly illustrated book about the
B.C. artist Gordon Smith features 55 sumptuous full-color reproductions
and a wealth of insights into the process of making art.

The book begins with a short foreword by Alf Bogusky, director of the
Vancouver Art Gallery. Following it is a preface by Andrew Hunter,
curator of the Kamloops Art Gallery, and Ian Thom, senior curator at the
Vancouver Gallery. In an essay entitled “Gordon Smith, the Act of
Painting,” Thom examines the biographical and critical influences on
Smith’s work. Born in England, Smith immigrated to Canada in 1933.
Thom chronicles his studies at the Winnipeg School of Art, his active
service during World War II, and his lifetime career as an artist and
educator. As Thom points out, Smith has contributed immeasurably to
Canadian art through his work with the Canadian Group of Painters, the
Canada Council, and the arts councils and boards of British Columbia and
Manitoba, as well as through his teaching sessions at Banff and other
Canadian centres. Thom’s essay is followed by 47 pages of
representative samples of Smith’s work and an essay by Andrew Hunter
that elaborates on his thesis that “Gordon Smith’s paintings are
about memory.”

Through the generosity of 49 individuals and organizations, this book
has been made available to students at all of British Columbia’s
educational institutions.