George Henry Smillie

"George Smillie" redirects here. For American engraver, see George Frederick Cumming Smillie.

George Henry Smillie
Born	December 29, 1840 New York City, New York, United States
Died	November 10, 1921(1921-11-10) (aged 80) Bronxville, Westchester County, New York, United States
Occupation(s)	Painter, etcher
Spouse	Nellie Sheldon Jacobs (m. 1881–1921; his death)
Children	3
Relatives	James David Smillie (brother)

George Henry Smillie (December 29, 1840 – November 10, 1921)[1][2] was an American painter and etcher.

Early life and education

George Henry Smillie was born on December 29, 1840, in New York, to parents Catherine (née Vans Valkenburgh) and Scottish-born artist James S. Smillie (1807–1885).[1][3] He was the brother of artist James David Smillie (1833–1909).[4][5]

Smillie studied under his father, and under painter James McDougal Hart.[4]

Career

He became a member of the National Academy of Design in 1882.[4] Like his brother, he painted both in oils and in watercolor. His favorite subjects were scenes along the New England coast. In 1871 Smillie travelled west to make landscape paintings and drawings, particularly of the Rocky Mountains and Yosemite Valley.[6]

In June 1881, he married painter Nellie Sheldon Jacobs (1854–1926), at All Souls' Church in New York City.[4][7][8][6] Together they had three sons.[7]

He died on November 10, 1921, in his home in Bronxville, in Westchester County, New York.[2][7] He was survived by his wife and children.

His work is in museum collections, including the Brooklyn Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[6]

• 
  River Landscape with Mountain View
• 
  Tremezzo, Lake Como (1898)
• 
  Working on the Thames River (1884)

References

1. SMILLIE, George Henry in Who's Who in America (1901-02 edition); via archive.org
2. "George Henry Smillie". The New York Times (Obituary). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-05 – via The Times Machine.
3. Avery, Kevin J. (2002). American Drawings and Watercolors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.). Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 343. ISBN 978-1-58839-060-8.
4. Chisholm 1911.
5. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Smillie, James David". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 254.
6. "George Henry Smillie Artist of Old Ridgefield". NewsTimes. June 19, 2020.
7. "Additional Deaths". The Indiana Democrat (Obituary). November 16, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "An Artist's Marriage". The Philadelphia Times. 1881-06-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-01-05 – via Newspapers.com.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Smillie, James David". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 254.

External links

• Media related to George Henry Smillie at Wikimedia Commons
• Works by or about George Henry Smillie at the Internet Archive