# Allen Smith Jr.

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{{short description|American painter}}

thumb|215px|The Young Mechanic
[[File:ASmith-Brough.jpg|thumb|215px|Portrait of Ohio Governor<br/> [John Brough](/source/John_Brough)]]
'''Allen Smith Jr.''' (1810, [Rhode Island](/source/Rhode_Island) - 1890, [Cleveland, Ohio](/source/Cleveland%2C_Ohio)) was an American portrait painter. He also created some [landscapes](/source/Landscape_painting) and [genre](/source/Genre_art) scenes.

==Biography==
He grew up in Massachusetts. Later, he went to New York, where he studied with the [miniaturist](/source/Portrait_miniature), William Daniel Parisen (1800-1849), while attending antique classes at the [American Academy of the Fine Arts](/source/American_Academy_of_the_Fine_Arts). He attended similar classes at the [National Academy of Design](/source/National_Academy_of_Design) and continued to exhibit there occasionally from 1832 to 1842. He was an Associate Member until 1860.<ref name="L">[https://collections.lacma.org/node/166772 Biography] @ [LACMA](/source/LACMA).</ref>

In 1835, he joined his parents in [Detroit](/source/Detroit). Three years later, he was in [Cincinnati](/source/Cincinnati), then returned to New York for a short time, finally settling in Cleveland sometime around 1842.<ref name="L" /> He soon established himself as a popular portrait painter. As a father of eight children, he would often find it necessary to supplement his income by touching up and colorizing photographs for local studios. Following the [Panic of 1857](/source/Panic_of_1857), he took a permanent position at the firm of James Fitzallen Ryder (1826-1904), and produced the "best oil painted photographs in Ohio".<ref name="A">[http://www.askart.com/artist/Allen_Jr_Smith/20510/Allen_Jr_Smith.aspx Biography] @ AskArt.</ref>

He also painted genre scenes, and submitted several to the National Academy and the [American Art Union](/source/American_Art_Union) throughout the 1840s and 50s. Only one, "The Young Mechanic" is currently known.<ref>[http://www.eldreds.com/biographies/artists/Allen_Smith/ Biography] @ Eldred's.</ref>

He retired to [Lake County](/source/Lake_County%2C_Ohio) in 1882 and devoted his time to painting landscapes in [Big Creek Valley](/source/Big_Creek_(Geauga_County%2C_Ohio)).<ref name="A" />

Some sources credit him as the designer of the first flag of the State of Michigan, which featured a portrait of Governor [Stevens T. Mason](/source/Stevens_T._Mason).<ref name="A" /> None of these flags, or images of them, are known to exist.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*George C. Groce and David H. Wallace, ''The New-York Historical Society’s Dictionary of Artists in America, 1564-1860'', Yale University Press, 1957, p.&nbsp;586
*Arthur H. Gibson (ed.) ''Artists of Early Michigan: A Biographical Dictionary of Artists Native to or Active in Michigan, 1701-1900'', Wayne State University Press, 1975, p.&nbsp;214. {{ISBN|978-0-8143-1528-6}}

==External links==
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{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Allen}}
Category:1810 births
Category:1890 deaths
Category:19th-century American painters
Category:American portrait painters
Category:American landscape painters

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Allen Smith Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Smith_Jr.) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Smith_Jr.?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.