1943
David Richard Smyth was born in Washington
D.C. on December 2,1943 to Stewart Henry
Smyth, one of four children, born in Dublin in
1901, whose family had left Ireland for NewYork
in 1905; and Doris Madaline Simmons born in
1910, the eldest daughter of a Maryland tobacco
farmer and sometime "moonshiner".
1949
David began his schooling at the age of six at
Stanton Elementary School in Washington D.C.
During this period of his life, he spent a great deal
of time outside, usually playing football, baseball
and other kinds of sports or games with his two
elder half brothers, George and Donald. In 1948
David's father was involved in a motor vehicle
accident and never regained his full health. He
died in 1956, at the age of 51. Living in a small
one-bedroom apartment made it virtually
impossible for David to avoid being witness to the
suffering his father and family were forced to
endure. To hide from these and other demons that
haunt a young child, David spent his free time at
the dining room table engrossed in doing things
with his hands e.g. making models, drawing,
painting and anything else that would allow him
to disconnect from the suffering he saw his father
going through. In particular, it was David's
drawings which helped him drive the pain and
emptiness from his thoughts. "From the second
year of school I was aware of the two things I
could do better than my classmates: being able to
run faster than anyone in the school and having a
talent for drawing birds and people in a lifelike
appearance," David recalls. "As a young boy I
remember living next door to a convent and
having the nuns spend caring moments as they
walked me around the neighborhood." |
1959
David entered Anacostia High School where he
had the opportunity to study art under Philip
Ratner, a Pratt Institute graduate, whose work is
part of the National Historical Museurn at Ellis
Island. Ratner encouraged David to look beyond
his personal problems and take the time to explore
the wide variety of contemporary and classical
museums available to him in Washington.
Heeding this advice, David made a point of taking
the bus to the center of the city every week to
look at the classics of modern art in the National
Art Gallery or Philips Collection.Works by
Vermeer, Klee, Rothko and Seurat presented an
exciting new visual universe to the young artist. From
that point onwards, painting took control of his
life. In 1962, David graduated from High School
with a diploma in art.
1962
David enrolled at the Corcoran School of Art in
Washington. There he met Richard Leahy, an elder
statesmen for the more traditional style of painting
and drawing. Sparks began to fly almost
immediately, but professor Leahy later said he
"had seen a little of himself, a bit of rebellion in
David that he rather fancied".
1963
He began taking classes with Clifford Chieffo, a
Yale graduate who had worked as an apprentice to
the renowned sculptor Naum Gabo. Chieffo, whose
passionate inspiration reminded him of his first
teacher Philip Ratner, asked David to assist him in
the building and preparing of canvases.That same
year, David was introduced to the sculptor Dennis
Kowalski who ,vas also taking classes at the
Corcoran School. Dennis became a major
inspiration and lifelong friend. |
