George Smart (tailor)

George Smart (1774-1846) was an English tailor and Folk Artist notable for his cloth collage portraits and felt covered dummyboards. He lived in Frant, a village in East Sussex, England. His artworks were mentioned in several guidebooks of the time that encouraged tourists to visit his shop.[1] His most notable subjects were Old Bright, the local postman and The Goosewoman.[2] The Tunbridge Wells Museum owns nine examples of his work and Compton Verney Art Gallery[3] in Warwickshire has two pictures.[4]

"Old Bright, The Postman" by George Smart, c.1830s. ©Tunbridge Wells Museum/Jonathan Christie 2015
"The Goosewoman" by George Smart, c.1830s. ©Tunbridge Wells Museum/Jonathan Christie 2015
Label on the reverse of the Goosewoman picture by George Smart, c.1830s. ©Tunbridge Wells Museum/Jonathan Christie 2015

In the summer of 2014, twenty one artworks by George Smart were included in Tate Britain's "British Folk Art" exhibition,[5] the first time his work had been gathered together in a major gallery and in such quantity. These included all the examples of his work owned by the Tunbridge Wells Museum, Kent.[6]

Until recently he has mostly been the subject of a few paragraphs in Folk art compendiums,[7] but is now recognised as one of the key figures within the history of English Folk Art.[8] Unusually for a Folk Artist, he is the known creator of over 70 works[9]

The first monograph on Smart called, George Smart: The Tailor of Frant, Artist in Cloth & Velvet Figures was published in the UK in March 2016. A website devoted to the life and work of George Smart, The Tailor of Frant is now available here: georgesmartfrant.wordpress.com[10]

Further reading
  • Christie, James (July 2015). "George Smart: his pictures remembered". Parish News: Serving the Communities of Frant, Bridge and Bells Yew Green. 100: 8–9.
  • Christie, James (2016). George Smart: The Tailor of Frant, Artist in Cloth & Velvet Figures. Unicorn Publishing. ISBN 9781910787007.
  • Gill, M. (1987). Professor of Peculiar Art, a brief account of George Smart, Tailor of Frant. Tunbridge Wells.
  • Myrone, Martin (26 May 2016). "Smart, George (1775/6–1846), tailor and textile artist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/107474. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

References
  1. New Guide for Tunbridge Wells, by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen, published by John Colbran, Tunbridge Wells in 1840; retrieved 11 May 2015
  2. Professor of Peculiar Art, a brief account of George Smart, Tailor of Frant, Margaret Gill, Tunbridge Wells Museum, pamphlet, 1987
  3. "Compton Verney - Compton Verney - A Fantastic Day Out". comptonverney.org.uk.
  4. George Smart: Cat Manufacturer – Artist in Cloth and Velvet Figures, by Steven Hobbs, published 18 May 2014; retrieved 11 May 2015
  5. Why did it take so long to recognise the worth of British folk art?, by Andrew Lambirth, in the Spectator, published 2 August 2014; retrieved 30 April 2015
  6. Artworks from Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery have been loaned to Tate Britain, by Annabel Rusbridge-Thomas on Kent Online, published 18 July 2014; retrieved 5 May 2015
  7. British Folk Art, James Ayres, Barrie & Jenkins, 1977
  8. Amongst these key figures are George Smart the tailor of Frant, by Art & Collections International, retrieved 11 May 2015
  9. George Smart: The Tailor of Frant, Artist in Cloth & Velvet Figures, page 123, Jonathan Christie, Unicorn Press, 2016.
  10. George Smart Frant website; retrieved 29 April 2016
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