Florence Smithburn Sketchbooks

Item Details

Untitled
Four sketchbooks
Signed to the lower right

Florence Bartley Smithburn (Indiana, 1904-1989)
Untitled, mid 20th century
Four sketchbooks
Two sketchbooks signed to their covers
Single sketch signed to the lower left

A group of four sketchbooks belonging to the listed artist Florence Bartley Smithburn (1904-1989). These books contain drawings, studies, sketches, and thumbnails in a variety of drawing media including charcoal, graphite, color pencil and ink. The books feature a total of 67 works depicting various portraits, figures, landscapes, environments, and still lifes. Includes a single loose still life that is signed to the lower left. Two of the sketchbooks are signed to their covers. They are presented together in an acetate sleeve.

Smithburn studied art the the John Herron Art School in Indianapolis, Indiana, before moving to Uganda for ten years, recording the African tribal way of life with her artwork. Her experiences living in Africa and the United States ultimately shaped her artistic oeuvre, as her art continued to address socio-economic and political issues relevant to the times. Her work has been exhibited widely in Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Atlanta, New York and Indianapolis and has been included in the collections of the Georgia Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Condition

- varying wear along edges and corners of sketches and covers; varying toning and wear throughout interior pages; some loose pages are detached from the sketchbooks.

Dimensions

- measures the larger sketchbook; measures the smaller sketchbook 8.25" W x 10" H.

Item #

16CIN997-2762