FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              MEDIA CONTACT:  Matthew Lindsay

April 29, 2003                                                   (202) 994-1423; mlindsay@gwu.edu

GW’s LUTHER W. BRADY ART GALLERY PRESENTS

CLARICE SMITH: PAINTINGS

MAY 2 – 29

EVENT:                    Clarice Smith: Paintings features 19 oil paintings by GW alumna

                                  Clarice Smith at The George Washington University’s Luther W.

                                   Brady Art Gallery.

WHEN:                     Exhibition Dates: Friday, May 2, 2003 – Thursday, May 29, 2003

                                   Gallery Hours:  Tuesday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

WHERE:                   The George Washington University

                                   Luther W. Brady Art Gallery

           Media and Public Affairs Building – 2^nd floor

                                   805 21^st Street, NW

                                   Washington, D.C. (Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro,

                                   Blue and Orange lines)

COST:                       Free and open to the public

BACKGROUND:

Clarice Smith captures the essence of place, individuality of a subject and mood of the moment in her 19 paintings on view at the Luther W. Brady Art Gallery. She has stated, “I paint the world I live in, the things I know,” such as the dynamism of a horse in motion and the heavy atmosphere surrounding a particular road in the Scottish Highlands.  Smith infuses conventional stylistic approaches to painting and composition with touches of her own invention.  Patterning found in nature, people and objects is of paramount interest to Smith, and serves as the springboard for her compositions. 

In her career of almost 30 years of painting, the visual artist remains a passionate traveler and student of art history. Smith received her Bachelor of Arts (1976) and Master of Fine Arts (1979) degrees from GW.  She was on the faculty of the Department of Fine Arts and Art History from 1980 to 1987.  She has had solo exhibitions at prestigious galleries both here and abroad, including Richard Green, London, England; Wildenstein, New York, New York; Kennedy Galleries, New York, New York; and David Koetser Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland.  A seven-museum tour of her work Clarice Smith: Remembered Moments, included a stop at GW’s Dimock Gallery in 1986.  The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, exhibited Clarice Smith: Paintings in 1988, and her work has been included in exhibitions at The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.  Smith actively advises several cultural and civic organizations in the Washington, D.C. area.

At a recent tribute (April 2, 2003) to the District of Columbia’s first elected mayor, Walter E. Washington, current mayor Anthony Williams unveiled a portrait of Washington painted by Smith.  The portrait will be on display at The City Museum of Washington, D.C.

For more information, call GW’s University Art Galleries at (202) 994-1525.

For more news about GW, visit the GW News Center at www.gwnewscenter.org.

-GW-