Ruth Smith (artist)
Encyclopedia
Ruth Smith Nielsen was a Faroese
artist. She lived for some years in Denmark
, where she was educated as a painter first on the Bizzie Højer Art School and later on the Art Academy of Copenhagen. Later she moved back to the Faroe Islands; and the last years of her life she lived in the small village Nes
, which is located on the fjord Vágsfjørður
between the villages Vágur
, where she was born and Porkeri
. Ruth Smith liked to swim in the sea, but one day she drowned while swimming in Vágsfjørður
.
, her landscapes have Impressionist influences. Nevertheless, her work is considered representative of realism
.
Her two self portraits of 1955 http://www.art.fo/images_artists/ruth_smith_7_st.jpg and 1956 are ranked among the most important paintings of the Faroes and are in the Faroe Islands Art Museum.
in honour of Ruth Smith. The museum is called Ruth Smith Savnið, which means Ruth Smith Art Museum. The museum is located in the Old School on Vágsvegur 101, which is the same school where Ruth Smith went to school as a child. The museum has paintings and drawing by the artist. One of the main attractions is a self-portrait, which she painted in 1941. It is the same self-portrait which was used as the cover of a book about the artist Ruth Smith.
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
artist. She lived for some years in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, where she was educated as a painter first on the Bizzie Højer Art School and later on the Art Academy of Copenhagen. Later she moved back to the Faroe Islands; and the last years of her life she lived in the small village Nes
Nes, Vágur
Nes is a village on the Faroese island of Suðuroy located in the municipality of Vágur . It is located west of Porkeri and east of Vágur. Its postal code is FO 925. It should not be confused with another village by the same name on Eysturoy . There is another village in Suðuroy with the same...
, which is located on the fjord Vágsfjørður
Vágsfjørður
Vágsfjørður is a fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The fjord is located in the southern part and on the eastern side of the island. The distance between the east and the west coast of Suðuroy is very short from Vágsfjørður to Vágseiði. Between the fjord and Vágseiði is a lake...
between the villages Vágur
Vágur
Vágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Islands of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
, where she was born and Porkeri
Porkeri
Porkeri is a village in the Faroe Islands, situated north of Vágur on Suðuroy's east coast. As of 2004 it had a population of 332. and has been inhabited at least as early as the 14th century....
. Ruth Smith liked to swim in the sea, but one day she drowned while swimming in Vágsfjørður
Vágsfjørður
Vágsfjørður is a fjord on the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. The fjord is located in the southern part and on the eastern side of the island. The distance between the east and the west coast of Suðuroy is very short from Vágsfjørður to Vágseiði. Between the fjord and Vágseiði is a lake...
.
Work
Ruth Smith dealt with colours more sensitively than many of her contemporaries. She caught the Faroese light in her pictures, and the colours vibrate under brush lines. Inspired by CézannePaul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, her landscapes have Impressionist influences. Nevertheless, her work is considered representative of realism
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
.
Her two self portraits of 1955 http://www.art.fo/images_artists/ruth_smith_7_st.jpg and 1956 are ranked among the most important paintings of the Faroes and are in the Faroe Islands Art Museum.
Ruth Smith Art Museum
There is an art museum in VágurVágur
Vágur meaning Bay is a town on the Faroe Islands of Suðuroy, it is situated on the east coast of the island on the Vágsfjørður fjord, and dates from the fourteenth century. Expansion has meant that the nearby town of Nes is now a suburb of Vágur...
in honour of Ruth Smith. The museum is called Ruth Smith Savnið, which means Ruth Smith Art Museum. The museum is located in the Old School on Vágsvegur 101, which is the same school where Ruth Smith went to school as a child. The museum has paintings and drawing by the artist. One of the main attractions is a self-portrait, which she painted in 1941. It is the same self-portrait which was used as the cover of a book about the artist Ruth Smith.
Literature
- Dagmar Warming: Ruth Smith : Lív og verk. Tórshavn: Listasavn Føroya, 2007 - ISBN 9789991898704 (294 p. Faroese)