ABOUT THE ARTIST
James M. Smith is a native of St. Louis, and received his BFA from Kansas University and his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. He has taught at universities in the United States and Canada. His work has been exhibited regularly since 1973 and has won numerous awards. Smith's work is represented in many museums and in both corporate and private collections.
Artist Arthur Osver called Smith both an inspired painter and savvy Alchemist.
"For him, anything and everything can lend itself to the magic of everyday living: paper, cloth, metal. Wood or whatever, undergo a transmutation into images and objects of vivid power and resonance. Their impact on us is to change forever the way we now see the world."
Annual Scholarship established.
“James Michael Smith Endowed Scholarship in Painting”
University of IL, Champaign Urbana IL
JAMES MICHAEL SMITH - RESUME
Education
Master of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking, University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL,
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting and Printmaking,
University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS,
Publication Review List
Contemporary American Oil Painting, Jilin Fine Arts Publishing House
Tools as Art, Abrams, Inc., The Hechinger Collection. Peter Hamill
New American Painting, Open Studio Press, Boston, MA
Chicago Reader, Chicago, IL
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL
Chicago Sun Times, Chicago, IL
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO
St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, MO
Riverfront Times, St. Louis, MO
Art News, New York, NY
New Art Examiner, Chicago, IL
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Invitational Radio Interview
St. Louis Business Journal, St. Louis, MO
ArtNet-Prairie Smoke, Chicago, IL
West End Word, St. Louis, MO
J Denver, (where are lives, not just hangs) Denver, CO
Webster Kirkwood Times, (Artists influenced by study of native americans) St. Louis MO
The Jewish Light - The Morning Light (How a non-Jewish artist help shape Jewish spaces across the mid west) St. Louis, MO
Permanent Collections: (Partial Listing)
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA (multiple purchases)
The Byers Museum, Evanston, IL
Racine Art Museum, Racine WI
The Center for Advanced Studies Collection, University Of Illinois, Urbana, IL
International Arts and Artists, Washington, DC
Starwood Corporation, Westin Hotel, St. Louis, MO
The Hechinger Collection,Washington, D.C.
Bank of Sacramento, Sacramento, CA
Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
Saks Fifth Avenue, New York, NY
Equitable Life Assurance Society, Des Moines, IA
Ralston Purina Headquarters, St. Louis, MO
McDonald’s Corporation Headquarters, Chicago, IL
Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, MO
Borg-Warner, Inc., Chicago, IL
Helene Curtis, Inc. Chicago, IL (private family collection)
J. Walter Thompson, Chicago, IL
Fagadau Energy, Dallas, TX
Steelcase, St. Louis, MO
PGAV, St. Louis, MO
The Private Bank, St. Louis, MO
THF Realty, St. Louis, MO
EVS Realty Advisors, St. Louis, MO
St. Louis America's Convention Center, St. Louis, MO
Barnes-Jewish Children Hospital, St. Louis MO.
Ken & Nancy Kranzberg, St. Louis, MO
The Horseman Foundation, St. Louis, MO
The Staenberg Family Foundation, St. Louis, MO
The Jewish Community Centers (St. Louis, Omaha, Denver, Kansas City, St. Paul, MN.)
Stifel Theater, St. Louis, MO.
St. Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis MO.
St. Louis Mercantile Library, at the university of MO. St. Louis, MO.
A more comprehensive list is available upon request.
Selected Exhibitions
| 2025 | Solo Exhibition McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Gallery |
| 2024 | Solo Exhibition McCaughen & Burr Fine Arts Gallery |
| 2022 | The Gallery at the District, Memorial exhibition, sponsored by Michael Staenberg, St. Louis, MO |
| 2011 – 2012 | Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2013 | Solo Exhibition, St. Louis University Museum of Art, The Aronson Gallery, St. Louis, MO |
| 2012 | Solo Exhibition, Illinois Wesleyan University, The Merwin Gallery, Bloomington, IL |
| 2008 | Solo Exhibition, The Sheldon Art Galleries, The Bellwether Gallery, St. Louis, MO |
| 2006 | Solo Exhibition, Gallery 210, University of Missouri-St. Louis Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2005 | Solo Exhibition, Regional Arts Commission, St. Louis, MO Invitational Exhibition, Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2004 | Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL Drawing Invitational, The Sheldon Galleries, St. Louis, MO |
| 2003 | Solo Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL Solo Exhibition, Fontbonne University, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 2001 | Solo Exhibition, The Sheldon Galleries, St. Louis, MO (Dec. 2000) |
| 2000 | The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA |
| 1999 | River Market Regional Exhibition, Kansas City Art Coalition, juried competition Dishman Competition 99–National Exhibition, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX “Art Forms,” Gallery Manayunk, National Exhibition, Philadelphia, PA, Award received 49th Annual Art Competition, National Exhibition, Fort Smith, AR, Award received Solo Exhibition, Mossa Gallery, St. Louis, MO |
| 1998 | Solo Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL “Critical Mass,” exhibit curated by the St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO Faculty Exhibit, St. Louis Community College at Forest Park, St. Louis, MO |
| 1997 | Group Exhibition, “The City Series,” Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, IA Exhibition, Ethical Society, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ Group Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 1996 | New Work Exhibition, R. Duane Reed Gallery, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ Group Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL |
| 1995 | New Work Exhibition, Fassbender Gallery, Chicago, IL Group Exhibition, Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ Solo Exhibition, St. Louis Community College at Meramec, St. Louis, MO |
Academic Awards
| 1978 | The Ford Foundation Summer Research Fellowship, New York, NY University of Missouri Research Fellowship, St. Louis, MO |
| 1973-71 | Tuition Waiver, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL |
| 1972 | Reserve Grant for Painting, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL |
| 1971 | Lockwood Grant Foundation for Painting, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS |
| 1970 | Ada Bechtel Heuser Grant for Painting, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS |
Lineage
James Native American Lineage: 5th great grandmother Ferrby Lunah Benton, Cherokee, 1753-1850 Married to William Vaughen Via James Grandfather, William Burton Reynolds.
Professor - Academic Teaching Experience
University of IL, Champaign Urbana IL
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Canada
Western Illinois University, Macomb IL
University of Missouri, St Louis MO
St Louis Community colleges: Florissant Valley, Meramec, Forest Park
Fontbonne University, St Louis MO
Significant Patrons:
Michael Staenberg
Ken & Nancy Kranzberg
Bob & Peggy Callahan
Andrea Powers-Schankman
John & Cynthia LaClair
Steve & Rama Nixon
John Surgant & family