As the custodian of Richard Smith’s artistic bounty, I stopped the sale of individual paintings after his death on the 1st November 2008.
Originally I did this as I thought a collection of his work might be of greater interest to a Smith devotee and bought as such. The idea was based on the fact that over the years some of his patrons bought several pieces and one couple had only Richard’s paintings in their home.
The new owner would also become the ‘official’ agent of provenance of any of Richard’s other work bearing in mind that a signature on a piece is not provenance. This would be in the form of hand written details in exercise books in which Richard recorded the date of the sale of each piece, plus its size and often the buyer’s name. These books would form part of the purchase.
Also included would be the electronic database of all his work, related books, magazines and any fliers of past exhibitions, postcards, a few ceramic plates and other memorabilia.
Since then encouraged by people who loved his work I have decided that the remaining 31 pieces of his work held by Studio 21 should not be hidden but shared and enjoyed all over the world, as were all his other 1000 paintings.
So if you are interested in acquiring either individual pieces or a collection please contact me.
The photos of the pieces held by Studio 21 follow.
