The English photographer Edwin Smith (born Edwin George Herbert Smith) was best known for his distinctive vignettes of English gardens, landscapes, and architecture. He worked briefly as a fashion photographer for Vogue in 1935 before becoming a freelance photographer. Smith, however, focused his artistic efforts on subjects such as Ashington, a mining community in Northumberland, the docks of Newcastle, and circuses in London. He was highly regarded in his lifetime for his depictions of historic buildings and landscapes, especially in the British Isles. His photographs still can convey a sense of place and capture the beauty of the ordinary, despite his less well-known status today. Edwin Smith’s architecture reveals an appreciation for diversity, as well as a concern for the fragility of our natural and built environment. In light of the ongoing relevance of these themes and the excellence of his photography, we hope that this exhibition will provide an opportunity for a timely reappraisal.
In 1954, Smith married artist and writer Olive Cook, with whom he co-authored or contributed to several books. Cook was a tireless advocate of Smith’s work and donated an archive of 60,000 negatives in 2002 to the Robert Elwell Photographs Collection of the Royal Institute of British Architects.
