During WWII William A Smith spent time in China in the service of the Office of Strategic Services. There he created propaganda art - its purpose, to demoralize the occupying Japanese forces. Smith also did many sketches and paintings of the Chinese people who were enduring that occupation and of the towns and villages and the surrounding countryside in which they lived.
These personal art works are an admirable testament to the tremendous respect and affection Smith felt for the people he encountered. They are also an important historical document that sheds a personal light on a troubling time in a place to which not many of us here in the west have much of a connection.
With this being Father's Day weekend, I thought I should bring to your attention one daughter who recently went to a great deal of effort to share the memory of her father - and his work - with us. Kim Smith is the daughter of William A Smith, and the curator of a show of her father's artwork from his WWII tour of duty in China.
If you happen to live near San Rafael, CA, this is a show you won't want to miss. Perhaps its even something you might like to take your father too (though unfortunately not this weekend - the gallery is only open from Monday to Friday).
* For further information contact Sandi Chin, Director of University Community Exhibitions at Dominican University, at the phone number or email address above.
* See much more of William A Smith's work and read about his career on the William A Smith blog.
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