This book explores images of Venice in the written and visual art of the multitalented American writer, painter, lecturer, and engineer Francis Hopkinson Smith (1838-1915). A successful artist and intrepid traveler, F. Hopkinson Smith spent0every summer in Venice for almost twenty years: his stays in the Italian city resulted in a large output of watercolors and writings, including his popular travelogue 'Venice of To-Day' (1895), which featured over 200 illustrations by Smith himself.0Despite Smith?s popularity during his lifetime, his reputation as a writer and painter faded after his death and has occupied only a modest place in the American canon. This is the first scholarly work to examine the life and work of this unique American artist, whose legacy spans two centuries and was grounded in the enduringly popular fin-de-siecle. This book examines Smith?s literary and visual perception of Venice while illuminating the life and works of this multifaceted artist, whose works are highly illustrative of the era's mainstream American culture and its perception of foreign spaces.0.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.