Edwin Smith (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Edwin George Herbert Smith (15 May 1912 – 29 December 1971) was an English
photographer. He is best known for his distinctive vignettes of English gardens, landscapes, and architecture. On his own or in partnership with his wife, the artist and writer Olive Cook, he authored or contributed to numerous books during his lifetime and his photographs are still regularly used today.
He was born in Canonbury
, Islington
, London
, the only child of Edwin Stanley Smith, a clerk, and his wife Lily Beatrice. After leaving school he was educated at the Northern Polytechnic
, transferring to the architectural school at the age of sixteen. He then won a scholarship to the Architectural Association, but gave up his course and worked as a draughtsman for several years. He became a freelance photographer in 1935, working briefly for Vogue
as a fashion photographer. However he concentrated his artistic efforts on subjects such as the mining community of Ashington
in Northumberland
, the docks of Newcastle, and circus
es and fairground
s around London.
In 1935 Smith married Rosemary Ansell, but the marriage ended in divorce two years later. By this time Smith was living with Olive Cook, whom he married in 1954. Smith was also a writer, producing photographic handbooks, including All the Photo Tricks (1940), for Focal Press. But it is for his photograph books he is best remembered. These include: English Parish Churches (1952), English Cottages and Farmhouses (1954), The English House Through Seven Centuries (1968), Pompeii and Herculanaeum (1960), Ireland (with Micheal Mac Liammoir) (1966), Rome: From its Foundation to the Present (1971) and England (1971). Many of these were collaborations with his wife; Cook providing the text beside Smith's photography.
Smith was also a prolific artist. He produced water and oil painting
s, drawings, linocut
s and woodcut
s throughout his life, and in later years at Saffron Walden
, he drew up architectural plan
s for local properties.
He became ill in the spring of 1971, but cancer
was not diagnosed until a few weeks before his death on 29 December. It was only after his death that exhibitions of Smith's work appeared, with a monograph
finally being published in 1984.
After Cook's own death in 2002, her papers and some of those of her husband were placed in Newnham College Archives, Cambridge. Edwin Smith's photographic archive was bequeathed to the Royal Institute of British Architects
, as were his notebooks containing detailed records of the photographs taken on his travels throughout Britain and Europe. Edwin Smith was also an avid collector and creator of Toy Theatre. On his wife's death, the collection passed to the Pollock's Toy Museum
Trust.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
photographer. He is best known for his distinctive vignettes of English gardens, landscapes, and architecture. On his own or in partnership with his wife, the artist and writer Olive Cook, he authored or contributed to numerous books during his lifetime and his photographs are still regularly used today.
He was born in Canonbury
Canonbury
Canonbury is a residential district in the London Borough of Islington in the north of London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road....
, Islington
Islington
Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the only child of Edwin Stanley Smith, a clerk, and his wife Lily Beatrice. After leaving school he was educated at the Northern Polytechnic
London Metropolitan University
London Metropolitan University , located in London, England, was formed on 1 August 2002 by the amalgamation of the University of North London and the London Guildhall University . The University has campuses in the City of London and in the London Borough of Islington.The University operates its...
, transferring to the architectural school at the age of sixteen. He then won a scholarship to the Architectural Association, but gave up his course and worked as a draughtsman for several years. He became a freelance photographer in 1935, working briefly for Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
as a fashion photographer. However he concentrated his artistic efforts on subjects such as the mining community of Ashington
Ashington
Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England with a population of around 27,000 people; it was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is located some north of Newcastle upon Tyne off the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck...
in Northumberland
Northumberland
Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...
, the docks of Newcastle, and circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
es and fairground
Funfair
A funfair or simply "fair" is a small to medium sized travelling show primarily composed of stalls and other amusements. Larger fairs such as the permanent fairs of cities and seaside resorts might be called a fairground, although technically this should refer to the land where a fair is...
s around London.
In 1935 Smith married Rosemary Ansell, but the marriage ended in divorce two years later. By this time Smith was living with Olive Cook, whom he married in 1954. Smith was also a writer, producing photographic handbooks, including All the Photo Tricks (1940), for Focal Press. But it is for his photograph books he is best remembered. These include: English Parish Churches (1952), English Cottages and Farmhouses (1954), The English House Through Seven Centuries (1968), Pompeii and Herculanaeum (1960), Ireland (with Micheal Mac Liammoir) (1966), Rome: From its Foundation to the Present (1971) and England (1971). Many of these were collaborations with his wife; Cook providing the text beside Smith's photography.
Smith was also a prolific artist. He produced water and oil painting
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
s, drawings, linocut
Linocut
Linocut is a printmaking technique, a variant of woodcut in which a sheet of linoleum is used for the relief surface. A design is cut into the linoleum surface with a sharp knife, V-shaped chisel or gouge, with the raised areas representing a reversal of the parts to show printed...
s and woodcut
Woodcut
Woodcut—occasionally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges...
s throughout his life, and in later years at Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden is a medium-sized market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England. It is located north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and approx north of London...
, he drew up architectural plan
Architectural plan
An architectural plan is a plan for architecture, and the documentation of written and graphic descriptions of the architectural elements of a building project including sketches, drawings and details.- Overview :...
s for local properties.
He became ill in the spring of 1971, but cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
was not diagnosed until a few weeks before his death on 29 December. It was only after his death that exhibitions of Smith's work appeared, with a monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
finally being published in 1984.
After Cook's own death in 2002, her papers and some of those of her husband were placed in Newnham College Archives, Cambridge. Edwin Smith's photographic archive was bequeathed to the Royal Institute of British Architects
Royal Institute of British Architects
The Royal Institute of British Architects is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally.-History:...
, as were his notebooks containing detailed records of the photographs taken on his travels throughout Britain and Europe. Edwin Smith was also an avid collector and creator of Toy Theatre. On his wife's death, the collection passed to the Pollock's Toy Museum
Pollock's Toy Museum
Pollock's Toy Museum is a small museum in London, England.It was started in 1956 in a single attic room at 44 Monmouth Street, near Covent Garden, where Pollock's Toy Theatres were also sold. As the enterprise flourished, other rooms were taken over for the museum and the ground floor became a...
Trust.