Francis Hopkinson Smith (October 23, 1838 – April 7, 1915) was an American author, artist and engineer. He built the foundation for the Statue of Liberty, wrote many stories and received awards for his paintings.
F. Hopkinson Smith was the great uncle of American architect, author and photographer G. E. Kidder Smith (1913-1997).
Biography
A Grand Harmonicon, a musical instrument invented by Smith, consisting of musical glasses in a wooden stand.[1]
He married Josephine Van Deventer on April 26, 1866.[2]
His first popular book was Col. Carter of Cartersville (1891). His 1896 novel Tom Grogan and 1898 novel Caleb West were each the best selling book in the United States in the year of their release.
On March 1, 1915, Smith wrote the Carmel Arts and Crafts Club in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California about his collection of fifteen original paintings being sent for a exhibition at the Club on June 8 to June 26, 1915. It was his first venture out West.[4][5]
He died at his home in New York City on April 7, 1915.[6]
Selected bibliography
He illustrated and published numerous travelogues, including:
Old Lines in New Black and White (1885)
Well-Worn Roads (1886)
A White Umbrella in Mexico (1889)
Gondola Days (1897)
The Venice of To-Day (1897)
His novels and short stories are especially felicitous in their portrayal of the Old South. Among them are:
Col. Carter of Cartersville (1891), which was successfully dramatized
A Day at La Guerre's and other Days (1892)
A Gentleman Vagabond and Some Others (1895)(short stories)
^La Rocca, Lynda (February 5, 2011). "Musical glasses produce grand sound". The Pueblo Chieftain. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
^ a bJohnson, Rossiter; Brown, John Howard, eds. (1904). The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Vol. IX. Boston: The Biographical Society. Retrieved May 28, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
^ a bChisholm 1911.
^"Arts and Crafts Club Scrapbook". Carmel Arts and Crafts Club. Carmel-by-the-Sea. 1915. p. 30.
^"F. Hopkinson Smith (letterhead)". New York. March 1, 1915. p. 30.
^"F. Hopkinson Smith, Author-Artist, Dies; Engineer Who Built Foundation for the Statue of Liberty Expires at 76. Created 'Colonel Carter' His Many Famous Stories Include "Caleb West, Master Diver". Received Awards for His Paintings". The New York Times. April 8, 1915. p. 13. Retrieved May 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^"Review of In Thackeray's London by F. Hopkinson Smith". The Athenaeum (4495): 722. December 20, 1913.
^Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Smith, Francis Hopkinson" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 32 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 500.
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Smith, Francis Hopkinson". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 260.
External links
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