Helen Donald-Smith was an English artist who worked in oil and watercolour, and was active circa

Circa

Circa , usually abbreviated c. or ca. , means "approximately" in the English language, usually referring to a date...

 1890–1925. Her work featured landscapes, particularly of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

, and portraits, including that of Brigadier General F.W. Lumsden

Frederick William Lumsden

Brigadier General Frederick William Lumsden VC, CB, DSO & Three Bars was a British officer in Royal Marine Artillery and later the General Staff, during the First World War...

 VC

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

, DSO

Distinguished Service Order

The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...

.

Career

On 14 March 1890, The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

reviewed an exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours

The Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours , initially called the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, , is one of the societies in the Federation of British Artists, based in the Mall Galleries in London.-History:In 1831 the society was founded as the New Society of Painters in Water...

, finding the exhibition in general to be of "fair average quality. A rather novel feature of it is that some of the best works are contributed by the oldest of the members and the youngest of the outsiders". The work was commented on individually, and the (anonymous) reviewer found "charming examples of the art of three ladies, flower-pieces by Madame Teresa Hegg de Lauderset (210) and Mrs. Duffield, and a pair of Thames landscapes by Miss H. Donald-Smith (209, 211). These last show a marked advance on any of the artist's previous work."

She painted Sir William Robert Grove

William Robert Grove

Sir William Robert Grove PC QC FRS was a judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology.-Early life:...

 c. 1890s (NPG 1478) and Mary Mackay ("Marie Corelli

Marie Corelli

Marie Corelli was a British novelist. She enjoyed a period of great literary success from the publication of her first novel in 1886 until World War I. Corelli's novels sold more copies than the combined sales of popular contemporaries, including Arthur Conan Doyle, H. G...

") in 1897 (NPG 4891). She painted Mrs (Edward) Alexander James Duff, née (Amy) Katherine Barnett (1854–1943). She painted Mary Elizabeth Kathleen Dulcie Deamer

Dulcie Deamer

Mary Elizabeth Kathleen Dulcie Deamer was an Australian novelist, poet, journalist and actor. She was a founder and a committee member of the Fellowship of Australian Writers.-Life:...

 (1890–1972) about 1921.

In December 1906, she had a solo exhibition, River, lake and garden : exhibition of water-colours by Miss H. Donald-Smith, at the Modern Gallery, 61 New Bond Street. This was visited by Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll

The Princess Louise was a member of the British Royal Family, the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and her husband, Albert, Prince Consort.Louise's early life was spent moving between the various royal residences in the...

 who also viewed on the same premises an exhibition by Percy French and the picture Mater Christi by Herman Salomon.

On 10 March 1909, the Baillie Gallery, which had recently moved from Baker Street

Baker Street

Baker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It is named after builder William Baker, who laid the street out in the 18th century. The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B...

 to 13 Bruton Street, staged their fourth annual exhibition of flower paintings. The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

described the proprietor as having "an excellent taste in art" and his exhibitions of "a fairly high standard". The flower painting genre was one which had fallen into disfavour, after a high point, but which was now being revived again. 148 works were on display, under a third showing gardens and the others depicting flowers.

At the same time as this show, two adjacent rooms were given over to 63 drawings of Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 by Donald-Smith, whose reputation had previously been for her oil paintings, particularly her portraits. Venice was a subject in vogue at the time. Donald-Smith’s work was reviewed as "Without any great distinction they are very accurate and very agreeable, and any lover of Venice may spend a most pleasant half-hour amongst these pictures of the beloved city."

In July 1913, Donald-Smith was recorded on the First List of Subscriptions, as having given £3.3.0 to the Lord Wolseley

Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley

Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign and the Nile Expedition...

 Memorial Fund, where she was titled "Miss".

In 1920, the Mess of the Royal Marines

Royal Marines

The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...

 commissioned two portraits from Donald-Smith of Brigadier General F.W. Lumsden

Frederick William Lumsden

Brigadier General Frederick William Lumsden VC, CB, DSO & Three Bars was a British officer in Royal Marine Artillery and later the General Staff, during the First World War...

 VC, DSO (1871–1918), of the Royal Marine Artillery. The work is now housed in the Royal Marines Museum

Royal Marines Museum

The Royal Marines Museum is located in Eastney , England, and is open to the public every day of the week throughout the year apart from Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day...

 in the Royal Marine Artillery Barracks, Southsea

Southsea

Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island in the county of Hampshire in England. Southsea is within a mile of Portsmouth's city centre....

, Portsmouth

Portsmouth

Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...

.

In February 1925, there was an exhibition of 90 water colours by Donald-Smith at the Gieves Gallery, 22 Old Bond Street, London. These ranged over a number of English counties, as well as some Italian locations, including Venice. They were described as coming into the genre of "pretty pictures" by The Times, which said:

Auction

• Feeding Pigeons, St Marks Square, Venice, a work on paper, was auctioned at Sotheby's
  Sotheby's
  Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish...
  
   on 18 October 1990, for £1,400.
• Portrait of Young Mother and Daughter on Marble Garden Seat, work on paper, was auctioned at Graves Son & Pilcher Fine Arts on 28 September 1995, for £900.
• Portrait of a Young Girl in a Blue Dress and Matching Bonnet, Holding a Lily 1897, pastel, was auctioned at Christie's
  Christie's
  Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
  
  , South Kensington
  South Kensington
  South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
  
  , British, Continental & Russian Pictures, on 19 July 2006, for £300.