Seawall

Artist Hughie Lee-Smith (American, 1915-1999)

Date1964

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsImage Size: 23 1/2 × 35 5/8 in. (59.7 × 90.5 cm) Frame Size: 27 5/8 × 39 3/4 in. (70.2 × 101 cm)

ClassificationsPainting

Object numberUAC217

DescriptionArtist Hughie Lee-Smith is perhaps best known for his early paintings of solitary figures before desolate landscapes. His work, bordering on Surrealism, makes use of personal symbolism including ribbons, poles and brick and mortar walls. His imagery relies upon some of the typical themes of Social Realism but questions existing conditions with subtle illusion.

Lee-Smith's 1964 painting, Breakwater, depicts a woman standing on a seawall. The figure's stance mimics the vertical poles, while her skirt and hair are tossed by the wind, casting lines parallel to the sea. At first glance the scene is quite commonplace, but beyond the initial glimpse one finds a trace of a shift in reality.

Lee-Smith was born in Florida in 1915. During the Great Depression he was employed by the Works Progress Administration in Ohio producing paintings and prints in a Social Realist style. Lee-Smith eventually moved to Detroit and studied at the Detroit Society of Arts & Crafts (now College for Creative Studies) and Wayne State University (BA 1953.) He relocated to New York in 1958 and taught at the Art Students League for 15 years. His career is distinguished and his work recognized alongside that of Edward Hopper and Giorgio de Chirico.

Text by Audrey Zofchak

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