David Smith, the American Abstract Expressionist sculptor, is best known for creating large steel abstract geometric sculptures. He was born in Decatur, Indiana on March 9, 1906. He studied at Ohio University and then for a short time at the University of Notre Dame, but he dropped out and went to work as a welder and riveter for the Studebaker automobile factory in South Bend, Indiana.
Smith later moved to New York where he studied at the Art Students League. Smith began his artistic career as a painter but by 1935 had committed himself completely to the medium of sculpture. His work often used thin steel rods to define areas in a linear manner. This gave his work the sense of having been drawn in space, a quality that may have been related to his beginnings as a painter. He was greatly influenced by the work of Julio Gonzalez and Pablo Picasso.
In 1940 Smith moved to Bolton Landing, NY and created the Terminal Iron Works studio. The Second World War disrupted Smith's access to a supply of metal and he again turned to painting. He created landscapes and cubist abstractions. In 1950, the Guggenheim Foundation awarded Smith a fellowship. This removed financial constraints and allowed him to spend more time sculpting. His sculptures were often created in series and Cubi and Zig were two of the most famous.
Smith was killed in an automobile accident on May 23, 1965.
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