Effie Anderson Smith Exhibition to Southwest Arkansas.
Effie was born near Nashville, Arkansas in 1869 and grew up in the newly established
city of Hope beginning in 1874. It was in Hope that Effie discovered her love of drawing
and painting – passions that would later change her life. At the of 25, she left Arkansas
for a new life in the Arizona Territory as a pioneer settler. Effie taught school, married,
raised a family, became active in civic and social affairs, and established her own
unique style of Impressionist painting of desert landscapes that brought her national
renown and newspapers to referred to her as The Dean of Arizona Women Artists later
in her life.
In 2020, an exhibition tour was planned by Archive Curator, Steven Carlson in honor of
Smith’s 150th birthday anniversary in 2019 to Southwest, Arkansas. However, the tour
was postponed due to pandemic conditions. Now, the exhibit dates for the Hope area
are set for Friday, Saturday & Sunday, September 29, 30 and October 1. The exhibit will
be open to the public at SWAAC’s Art Station Gallery on Friday 1pm-6pm, Saturday
10am-2pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm.
Curator Carlson, a great-grand nephew of Smith’s said… “We are delighted to finally be
able to bring Effie’s art back home to the Arkansas towns where she was born, grew up,
painted her first canvases, taught school and married - before leaving for the West as a
25-year-old widow.”
The E.A. Smith Archive and exhibit venues in Nashville, Hope, Arkadelphia, and
Washington are pleased to bring Effie Anderson Smith’s art to Arkansas – for the very
first time ever!
For more information contact Jennifer Block, Executive Director, Southwest Arkansas
Arts Council. 870-777-8200 or [email protected].
Website: www.swa-artscouncil.squarespace.com
Location: 200 Division Street Hope, AR 71801
The mission of the Southwest Arkansas Arts Council (SWAAC) is to enrich our
community through experience, expression, education in all the arts.
