George Smart (1774-1846) created portraits using cloth collage and felt-covered dummyboards. He worked as a tailor in Frant and his works feature characters such as “Old Bright, The Postman” and “The Goosewoman.”
The talk will be delivered by Jonathan Christie who published the first monograph on Smart’s work in January of this year, George Smart the Tailor of Frant: Artist in Cloth and Velvet Figures. Donations proceeding from the talk will be given to the Tunbridge Wells Museum which holds nine of Smart’s works, the largest collection of its kind in Britain.
Little is known about Smart’s life, though he gained minor-celebrity status after his art was included in several local guidebooks and he could count the Duke of Sussex as his patron.
The publication of the book followed the inclusion of 21 of Smart’s works in the Tate Britain’s 2014 exhibition British Folk Art.
It will be held on May 12 at 6pm and will include a Q&A session. Suggested donation is £10 and reservations may be made at 0207 228 7847 or office@robertyoungantiques.com.
Young's ongoing exhibition of folk art will close on May 14.
