Sanford L. Smith

Sanford L. Smith
Born
Sanford Louis Smith

(1939-07-22)July 22, 1939
New York City, U.S.
DiedMay 25, 2024(2024-05-25) (aged 84)
New York City, U.S.
Alma materWharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse(s)Patricia Lynch[1]
Jill Bokor
​
(m. 1992)​
[2]

Sanford Louis Smith (July 22, 1939 – May 25, 2024) was an American businessman known for his involvement in art exhibitions.

Life and career

Smith was born in Brooklyn in 1939.[3] He attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in economics. He also attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning his master's degree in communications.[4] He was a funeral director.[5]

In 1979, Smith founded the Fall Antiques Show, a fair focused on American antiques.[3]

In 1992, Smith founded the Outsider Art Fair,[6] helping to create a market for work by self-taught artists.[7]

Smith's company Sanford L. Smith + Associates produced up to 11 fine-art fairs in its heyday and continues to manage and produce Salon Art + Design, the ABAA New York International Antiquarian Book Fair, The Art Show which benefits Henry Street Settlement, and the ESA's Ephemera Fair. The company will continue to produce fairs and events, running the company under the name of its founder.[8]

Smith died of congestive heart failure at a care facility in Manhattan on May 25, 2024, at the age of 84.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Antiques/A new fall show springs into the spotlight". Newsday. Hempstead, New York. August 18, 1979. p. 33. Retrieved May 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Closed access icon
  2. ^ Kipps, Charles (July 2009). Cop Without a Badge: The Extraordinary Undercover Life of Kevin Maher. Simon & Schuster. p. 437. ISBN 9781439176375 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ a b c Bernstein, Fred A. (May 26, 2024). "Sanford L. Smith, Creator of Prestigious Art Fairs, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Gura, Judith (May 29, 2019). "Judith Gura discovers how his instinct for design and innovative marketing was honed". The Design Edit. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  5. ^ Blumental, Ralph (December 22, 2009). "After the Funeral Home, a Venture Into Antiques". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ Umberger, Leslie (October 4, 2022). We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection. Princeton University Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780691240428 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ Sheets, Hilarie M. (October 30, 2019). "There's No Business Like Art Fair Business for Sanford Smith". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  8. ^ Staff Writer (May 30, 2024). "Sanford L. Smith + Associates Positioned for Growth Following Legacy of Founder". Fine Books and Collections. Retrieved June 2, 2024.


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