SMITH
RODNEY
SMITH
Rodney Lewis Smith (1947–2016) was born in New York City. He found his artistic inspiration while visiting the permanent collection of photography at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) during his junior year in college. After graduating from the University of Virginia in 1970, he went on to earn a master’s degree in theology from Yale University, while minoring in photography under Walker Evans. Smith was looking for meaning in his life, and photography provided a way for him to express himself.
In 1976, he was awarded a Jerusalem Foundation Fellowship, which resulted in his first book, In the Land of Light. This three-month fellowship changed him profoundly, as he found nobility in a diverse mix of cultures and religions in the Middle East, where many people lived an 18thcentury existence in a 20th century world.
Having found his niche, Smith travelled throughout the American South, Haiti and Wales, making soul-searching portraits of workers and farmers, as well as capturing the magnificence of the landscape. Influenced by the teaching and technical precision of Ansel Adams, Smith sought to perfect his own technique, narrowing his choice of camera, film, exposure, developer, and paper. He used light to edit and reveal his subjects, rendering them in a broad spectrum of tones, ranging from crisp white highlights to deep velvety shadows. Smith’s signature style emerged, making the world appear sharper and clearer, bringing order to chaos.
In the mid-1980s, Smith’s work caught the attention of art directors and magazine editors who commissioned him to create journalistic portraits of CEOs around the world. He insisted on being given complete access to his subjects as well as total creative freedom. Shooting pictures of these powerful men, on location, in their own personal environments, endowed them with a previously unseen humanity, and changed the nature of corporate portraiture.
By the mid-1990s, editorial clients included The New York Times, W Magazine, Vanity Fair, Departures and New York Magazine. Smith was immersed in shooting fashion for Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Ralph Lauren and Paul Stuart, among others. All sought to tap into his unique style, and his emerging affinity for spontaneity, humour and surrealism. “I trust my instincts to get to the heart of the matter. Once I find the right location and the right light, everything else follows from there.”
Throughout his life, Smith was passionate about the print as an artifact. “For me, the print is the creation, the purpose, the result of my endeavour. ”Early on, he favoured small silver gelatin prints mounted with large white mats. In the mid-2000’s, with the advent of archival pigment printing on watercolour paper, he finally embraced both colour and large-scale printing with stunning results.
Rodney Smith died in 2016 at the age of 68. His images combine wit and elegance, a potent mix that could not have been created by any other photographer. His work continues to be shown at museums and galleries and collected by private individuals. The Estate of Rodney Smith is dedicated to preserving his archive and sharing it with audiences around the world who enjoy Smith’s signature aesthetic and whimsical sense of humour.

AJ From Behind in Field, Harriman, NY 1994

AJ Seated on Ladder From Behind, Long Island NY 2000

Anika on Bicycle, Long Island, NY 1993

Bernadette in White Dress from behind, Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, 1997

Bernadette Twirling, Burden Mansion, NY 1997

Caroline on Pointed Rock, LA 1998

Caroline Running Through a Doorway, Monkton, Maryland 1999

Chris Between Hedges, Packwood Estate, Warwickshire, England 2006

Couple From Behind on Ladders In Vineyard, Napa Valley, California, 1998

Danielle in Boat, Beaufort, South Carolina 1996

Don Jumping Over Hay Roll no1, Monkton, Maryland 1999

Edythe and Andrew Kissing On Top Of Taxis, NY 2008

Flynn Perched in Tree, Snedens Landing, New York 2012

Flynn Reading On a Pile Of Books, NY 2012

Gary Descending Stairs, Parc de Sceaux, 1995

Jessica on Rookery Stairs, Chicago, Illinois 1997

Karen in Doorway From Behind, NY 2011

Kiton Man on Knole Estate, Long Island NY 1995

Laura On Top Of Boat, Lake Placid, NY 2006

Mira Skipping With Umbrella, Paris, France 2007

Reed Floating With Balloon, NY 2011

Reed Leaping Over Rooftop, NY 2007

Reed Perched On Airplane Wing, JFK Airport NY 2007

Rocketman, Rhinebeck, New York 2009

Samuel From Behind no1, Reims, France 1997

Saori On Sea Plane WIng, Domenican Republic, 2010

Skyline Hudson River 1995

Tim Holding Mask to Bernadette, Burden Mansion, NY 1997

Victoria and Martin With Megaphones, Brooklyn NY 2000

Wessel And Mira Holding Hands In Front Of The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, 2007

Woman Holding Up Dress Walking Through Vineyard, Napa Valley, CA 1998

Woman With Hat Between Hedges, Parc de Sceaux, France 2004

Zoe On Top Of Matress Stack, Snedens Landing, NY 2007

Zoe On Water With Ducks, Sherwood Island Westport, Conneticut 2004

Zoe Reading, Seated on Bookcase, Long Island, NY 2004
