LOWCOUNTRY FAMILY OF ARTISTS

THE SMITHS

The Smiths

CONTENTS

Lowcountry Family of Artists

Copyright © 2015 by Anglin Smith Fine Art.

LOWCOUNTRY FAMILY OF ARTISTS Betty, Jennifer, Tripp & Shannon Page 4

International Standard Book Number: 978-0-9896340-2-1

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise-without prior written permission from the publisher & Anglin Smith Fine Art, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

FOREWARD Mary Alice Monroe Page 7

“With much gratitude to those who made this book possible- Leigh Limehouse, our director at the gallery. As well as Katie Geer for writing the content of this book. And of course, my children- Jennifer, Shannon and Tripp. Also, without a doubt,

BETTY ANGLIN SMITH Page 8

appreciation goes to our friends and patrons for supporting the gallery for the last 15 years. Dedication goes to the next generation of Smith artists, my grandchildren- Ellie, Perrin, Hadley, Walker, Anna Claire, Eliza and Mary Anglin. “

- Betty Anglin Smith

JENNIFER SMITH ROGERS Page 50

Book Design & Publishing by Branning Publishing, Inc.

TRIPP SMITH Page 90

www.branningpublishing.com Printed in P.R.C.

9 Queen Street Charleston, SC 29401 843-853-0708

www.anglinsmith.com

Betty Anglin Smith Reflections of Botany Bay - 2013 30x60 oil on canvas Collection of Jeff and Gail Weekly of Atlanta, GA

SHANNON SMITH HUGHES Page 102

The author Pat Conroy writes in his book, The Lords of Disciplines: “You can be moved profoundly by other

LOWCOUNTRY FAMILY OF ARTISTS

vistas, by other oceans, by soaring mountain ranges, but you can never be seduced. You can even forsake the

“Betty, Jennifer, Tripp & Shannon”

W

Lowcountry, renounce it for other climates, but you can never completely escape the sensuous, semitropical pull

hen Betty Anglin Smith and her husband

of Charleston and her marshes.”

decided to start a family in the early 70s, she never dreamed she’d have triplets,

Betty, Jennifer, Tripp, and Shannon know that pull well,

let alone that all three of her children would become

and they paint it—and photograph it—with emotion. This

artists one day—her own story as an artist had barely

book tells the story of the Smith family of artists, their

even begun. More than 40 years later, however, and

relationship with the Lowcountry, and the works of art

Betty’s brilliant oil paintings hang next to the works of

that are inspired by that relationship.

Tripp Smith, Jennifer Smith Rogers, and Shannon Smith Hughes—her three children. The works hang at Anglin Smith Fine Art, their familyowned art gallery located in the historic French quarter of Charleston, South Carolina. Walk into the gallery, and

with an early exposure to art and the inspiration they

of a sculptor and several other painters with close ties to

drew from life in the Lowcountry, each of them eventually

the family—a complementary and colorful mix of art.

found their way to creating art in early adulthood; their

you’re likely to find Betty’s bold and bright expressions

personal stories are told later in this book.

of South Carolina’s wetlands displayed next to Tripp’s evocative black-and-white photographs of the same subjects. You’ll see Shannon’s still lifes and coastal landscapes, glowing with light, and Jennifer’s paintings that juxtapose architecture and dramatic southern skies. Spend some time in the gallery, and it becomes clear

fishing and basket-weaving), and natural beauty. Its grand

the idea of leaving their home in upstate Columbia,

that artistic talent isn’t the only thing that runs in this

oak trees, winding creeks, and unspoiled coastlines have

but it wasn’t long until she found herself captivated

family. The Smiths also share a passion for bringing the

been painted, photographed, and portrayed in literature

and energized by Charleston’s budding art scene. She

South Carolina Lowcountry to life through art.

countless times.

began painting and showing her work—watercolors at first—and she quickly gained recognition for her colorful,

The Lowcountry is more than just a geographic region.

In fact, it was a move to the Lowcountry that first

It’s an artist’s muse, and the Smiths are far from the first

brought art roaring into the Smiths’ world. The triplets

to find inspiration in its deep-rooted Southern traditions

were three months old, and Betty’s husband, Cody, had

As children, Shannon, Tripp, and Jennifer didn’t

(good manners and shrimp & grits), rich culture (saltwater

begun practicing law in Charleston. At first, Betty hated

necessarily set out to become professional artists. But

contemporary interpretations of Charleston subjects.

It was a year later that the Smiths would take on another major project. While photographing in Meggett

The Smiths’ gallery has a story, too. In 2000, Betty had

(a rural town just about 30 minutes south of Charleston),

just returned from a solo exhibit in Carmel, California,

Betty discovered a 100-year-old abandoned cottage

when she told her family about an idea that had struck

on the flats of Wadmalaw Sound. The setting exuded

her on the west coast. “We should open a family gallery,”

Lowcountry essence, with salt-water marshes and pluff

she told them, envisioning a space much like the one in

mud, oyster beds and changing tides. Betty and her

Carmel—striking and simple at the same time, allowing

husband purchased the property, and after 18 months of

the focus to be on the art. Shannon mentioned that she

restorations and creative touch-ups, she had her dream

had recently passed a vacant storefront on the corner

studio. Bordering the ACE Basin—the river basin of the

of State and Queen Streets, a corner she passed daily

Ashepoo, Combahee, and Edisto Rivers—there is endless

on the walk to her painting studio. The spot was full of

subject matter for an artist to explore, and the Smiths

character, with 200-year-old cypress walls and stone

have been painting and photographing views from the

floors, and it soon became the Smith family’s gallery. It

property ever since.

remains so today, having expanded to also show the work

FOREWORD

S

tep into the Anglin Smith Fine Art Gallery of

The sultry, sand-swept landscape is part of their DNA.

Charleston and look up at the art on the walls and

Saltwater flows in their veins. Yet mother and children

you’ll feel like you’ve entered the brilliant colors of

each have a unique perspective in their art. Betty paints

dawn—cerulean blue pierced by streaks of gold and pinks

vibrantly colored expressionist landscapes and bold

that shimmer. A world of transcendent sunsets exploding

abstracts; Jennifer explores the effects of light on the

across a cloud filled sky in deep magenta, burnished gold

historic architecture of Charleston and those who live in

and pale lavender that is mirrored on the water. A place

the city; Shannon portrays the hues and hidden secrets

where egrets and great herons feast, where the ceaseless,

of the Lowcountry landscape and still life; and Tripp

white capped waves break on the shore, where a host of

photographs the landscape in sharply detailed black and

birds hunt the pluff mud on skinny legs, where children play

white. If you’re lucky, when you walk in the gallery you

tag with the sea, collect shells and build sandcastles while

might spy one of the artists painting or the next generation

mothers keep watch under colorful umbrellas. You’ll roam

of Smiths at play. It’s all part of the family creative energy

sun bleached docks past great ships and net slung shrimp

that radiates throughout the gallery and their art. When

boats. You’ll walk along the fabled, cobbled streets of

you look at their art, whether you’re Lowcountry born

Charleston; peer out over the rosy colored rooftops to the

or a visitor, you will feel at home and resonate to the

harbor, peek into shop windows, and gaze at the charming

connection.

spires of great churches that gave Charleston the name

God blessed the Lowcountry with a magnificent,

The Holy City. You’ve entered a brilliant, colorful, glittering

bountiful landscape and a plethora of indigenous wildlife.

microcosm of the Lowcountry.

God blessed the Smith family with the talent to capture the

Anglin Smith Fine Art is the gallery of Betty Anglin Smith

color and power of the Lowcountry—and more—translate

and her three children—triplets—painters Shannon Smith

for us, with an artist’s vision, its mystical, even spiritual

Hughes and Jennifer Smith Rogers, and photographer

emotion. Turn the page and enjoy!

Tripp Smith. The Smith family call South Carolina home. Shannon Smith Hughes Final Cast - 2011 36x36 oil on linen Collection of Jeff and Brooke Cummings of Raleigh, NC

- Mary Alice Monroe New York Times Bestselling Author

T

BETTY ANGLIN SMITH

showed their work right there in the park. “What fun,”

Charleston. When the Wells Gallery opened on Broad

she thought. Betty started dabbling—first in cross-stitch

Street in the early 90s, it was one of Charleston’s first

"Paint like a man going over the top of a hill singing." - ‘The Art Spirit’ by Henri

and pottery and then finally in painting, enrolling in

tried-and-true art galleries. That means it wasn’t an artist

watercolor night classes at Charleston’s Gibbes Museum

co-op or part frame shop—this was a premier gallery that

of Art. And when the triplets started the first grade, she

featured only a select group of artists, including Betty.

he first painting ever sold by Betty Anglin Smith went for $15. It was 1976, and the small watercolor piece—a Charleston street scene—had been

hanging at the Seagull Gallery, a co-op space in Mount Pleasant where artists could take lessons and display their art to the public. She put the $15 towards new supplies, but that initial sale did much more for Betty than help cover the cost of

suddenly found herself with some free time on her hands.

Betty stayed with Wells Gallery for nearly a decade,

She took full advantage, devoting the quiet mornings to

eventually showing her art there alongside the works of

her watercolors. Though many artists find painting with

her equally talented (and now grown) children—Tripp,

watercolors frustrating—difficult to control and unforgiving

a photographer, and Shannon and Jennifer, both oil

of mistakes—Betty found the process enthralling. She

painters like their mom. In 2000, Betty and her children

attempted to let go of control and instead let the painting

decided to branch out on their own. With the help of a

flow, allowing accidents to happen.

business partner and a small staff, Betty opened a gallery

The next few years were “some of the happiest years

paints and brushes. “I was hooked,” she says today, looking

of my life,” says Betty. She met a number of other young

back. Selling her art was an affirmation of her labor, and it sparked in her a fervent passion to keep painting.

in Charleston that featured the work of her family. Anglin Smith Fine Art sits in the same spot today.

artists through the Seagull Gallery, and together they’d

Beyond Charleston, her paintings have been featured

paint, show their work, and talk about art. On certain

in art exhibits across the country, from the Caldwell

Today that passion is still burning bright, though her

The newest “Betty’s” now hang at Anglin Smith Fine

as a college student at Winthrop University, she made

afternoons, they’d hang paintings on a wrought-iron

paintings look much different. Large-scale canvases.

Art, an art gallery in Charleston’s historic district that

the decision to study something “practical”—elementary

Snyder Gallery in both San Francisco and New York to

fence outside of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, selling the

Oversized brushstrokes. Electric colors that transcend

she owns with her daughters. On any given day, the

education (she never dreamed she could make a living as

Foxhall Gallery in Washington, DC, North Water Gallery

works to tourists for anywhere from $5 to $100.

reality but leave you longing for a world where pink marsh

gallery is bustling with both long-time admirers and

an artist). After college, she graduated and married her

in Martha’s Vineyard, and Anne Irwin Fine Art and

grasses and fire-engine-red skies actually exist. This is

visitors who stop by to soak up Betty’s brilliant oil

high school sweetheart, Cody Smith, and found work in

what you can expect today from a Betty Anglin Smith

paintings—vibrant lowcountry landscapes or abstracts

Columbia. And then it was time to start a family.

painting—or as her collectors would call it, “a Betty.”

that whirl with color and movement.

In the late 80s, Betty took a trip out west with Eva

Parker Gallery, which are both located in Georgia. Her

Carter, an influential friend who had started painting

collectors include art buyers from around the world and

with oils. In Santa Fe, the budding artists marveled at

corporations such as Walt Disney World, Johnson and

For Betty and Cody, that family got off to a much

vast landscapes juxtaposed against colorful skies, and

Johnson, and the charming Inn at Palmetto Bluff.

But her story as an artist begins long before she had a

quicker start than they had ever imagined. On a late

they visited art galleries that opened their eyes to richly

gallery or collectors from around the world—even years

April evening in 1972, Betty gave birth to triplets—Tripp

Today, Betty says she can’t imagine a life without

colorful oil paintings on extra-large canvases. It was this

before the sale of that very first watercolor. In elementary

(a nickname for Cody, III), Jennifer, and Shannon. Betty’s

painting. Creating art keeps her going; it keeps her

trip that Betty credits to changing the way she painted—

school, the young Betty Anglin stood out among her peers

heart was full, but so were her hands.

young. And though her career as a professional artist

oil paints, big canvases, dramatic landscapes, and vivid

already spans nearly 40 years, she certainly isn’t

colors that push reality.

planning on stopping anytime soon. As an artist, she has

for her artwork, and she was encouraged to continue

It wasn’t until the Smiths moved to Charleston a few

pursuing art when she transferred from the public school

months later that art reentered Betty’s world, refusing

system in Charlotte, North Carolina to one about 20 miles

Around the same time Betty’s painting style was

to be ignored. She remembers taking her children for

south in Fort Mill, South Carolina. Fort Mill, however,

experiencing a transformation, so was the art scene in

walks through downtown’s White Point Gardens, where

lacked an art education program. When Betty enrolled

she became fascinated by artists who painted and

too much more to say.

Autumn's Red Skies - 2011 - 48x24 oil on linen - Collection of Greg Little and Mary Jane Burns of New York, NY

Across the Dunes - 2014 58x38 oil on linen Collection of Shawn and Gigi Poole of Marietta, GA

Fall Foliage - 2011 - 48x48 oil on canvas - Private collection, Sweden

“The Smiths became instant family to me when I started part time at the gallery in 2003. It has been an honor to watch them evolve professionally as well as personally over the years. An amazing sense of light has always been present in their work, which they each execute successfully in a different way. It is this quality that allows them to be nationally recognizable and collected. I look forward to many more wonderful years alongside them as they continue to inspire me as well as their collectors.”



- Leigh Limehouse Gallery Director of Anglin Smith Fine Art

Surf ’s Up - 2012 38x58 oil on linen Collection of Shawn and Gigi Poole of Marietta, GA

“All of Betty's work is powerful because she compels us to see the landscape in unexpected ways. Her evolution to abstract painting is a continuation of her coastal landscapes, unrestrained in form. Once again, she reinterprets what we see with bold colors and obvious brush stroke marks, executed on canvas in a wildly imaginative way. Forms and components of nature are still part of her compositions – Spanish moss on oak limbs, pine bark, marsh grass, palm fronds, and water – but don't reveal themselves in an obvious visual manner.”

- Alice Parker





Owner of Parker Gallery, St. Simons Island, GA

Opposite Page Gibson Gardens, I and II - 2014 72x96 oil on canvas Private collection, Charleston, SC 14 Betty Anglin Smith

Betty Anglin Smith 15