George Smart (1774-1846) was an English tailor and folk artist notable for his cloth collage portraits and felt covered dummyboards. He lived in Frant, a village in East Sussex, England. His artworks were mentioned in several guidebooks of the time that encouraged tourists to visit his shop. New Guide for Tunbridge Wells, by John Colbran and edited by James Phippen, published by John Colbran, Tunbridge Wells in 1840; retrieved 11 May 2015 His most notable subjects were Old Bright, the local postman and The Goosewoman.Professor of Peculiar Art, a brief account of George Smart, Tailor of Frant, Margaret Gill, Tunbridge Wells Museum, pamphlet, 1987 The Tunbridge Wells Museum owns ten examples of his work and Compton Verney Art Gallery in Warwickshire has two pictures.George Smart: Cat Manufacturer – Artist in Cloth and Velvet Figures, by Steven Hobbs, published 18 May 2014; retrieved 11 May 2015
In the summer of 2014, twenty one artworks by George Smart were included in Tate Britain's "British Folk Art" exhibition,Why did it take so long to recognise the worth of British folk art?, by Andrew Lambirth, in the Spectator, published 2 August 2014; retrieved 30 April 2015 the first time his work had been gathered together in a major gallery and in such quantity. These included all the examples of his work owned by the Tunbridge Wells Museum, Kent.Artworks from Tunbridge Wells Museum & Art Gallery have been loaned to Tate Britain, by Annabel Rusbridge-Thomas on Kent Online, published 18 July 2014; retrieved 5 May 2015
Until recently he has mostly been the subject of a few paragraphs in Folk art compendiums,British Folk Art, James Ayres, Barrie & Jenkins, 1977 but is now recognised as one of the key figures within the history of English Folk Art.Amongst these key figures are George Smart the tailor of Frant, by Art & Collections International, retrieved 11 May 2015 Unusually for a Folk Artist, he is the known creator of around 100 worksGeorge Smart: The Tailor of Frant, Artist in Cloth & Velvet Figures, page 123, Jonathan Christie, Unicorn Press, 2016.
The first monograph on Smart called, George Smart: The Tailor of Frant, Artist in Cloth & Velvet Figures was published in the UK in March 2016.
Further reading
References
External links George Smart Frant website, The Tailor of Frant