When Effie's son Lewis A. Smith died in 1986, E. A. Smith's personal effects, photographs, papers, and paintings were passed on to two nieces, and more recently to others in the family.
During my school days in the 1950's and 60's, Uncle Lewis (1898-1986) and his wife Aunt Claire came from far away Arizona for sporadic visits to our family home in Upstate New York. And we visited Lewis and Claire twice during the 60's to see for ourselves the beauty Effie depicted in her desert paintings and Grand Canyon works. But it was the extended conversations I had with Lewis when I lived in Arizona during the 1980's which caused me to fully appreciate Lewis and his recollections of pioneer life in Arizona. Its history, geology, the raw natural beauty of its deserts and mountains, and how these elements combined to inspire his mother, Effie Anderson Smith, in her paintings.
Lewis's knowledge of geology came from his own career in mining, and the mentoring of his father, pioneer mine engineer and businessman Andrew Young Smith.
Equally important to Lewis was the artistic legacy of his mother, and Effie's love of the desert vistas around Cochise County, the Grand Canyon, and other favorite locales. Effie herself was a keen student of geology, and lectured on how the mineral content of Arizona's mountains and particles in the air gave the region its unique colors and light.
Lewis would recount his observations from the frequent plein air painting outings during his childhood, playing nearby yet aware of his mother as she studied and sketched the landscape, mixed her paints, and then created another of the works for which she became so well known.
Despite the boom and bust of life in a mining camp, the obligations that went along with being the wife of a mining executive, and raising a family, Effie found time to express herself through painting, writing, and speaking - and to further her talents through studies with noted Impressionists in California.
It is from these accounts directly handed down with the paintings and artifacts, plus the research I pursue to connect items in the Archive with public records and published notices from the period, that the E. A. Smith Archive has derived its content and context.
As defacto family Curator of the Archive since 2010, I’ve been happy to hear from researchers, appraisers, collectors, educators, or anyone interested in Effie Anderson Smith. Study copies of selected items from the Archive are available, including many resources not currently online, along with our well considered insights into the E. A. Smith paintings you may possess or are researching. In turn, the information you have shared with us about any E.A. Smith painting has been very helpful as we continued work on our forthcoming Catalogue raisonné .
As of 2023, the E.A. Smith Archive has evolved into the Effie Anderson Smith Museum and Archive - an Arizona tax exempt 501c3 non-profit organization. This allows us to receive major gifts, apply for grants and seek major funding with the mission to establish a PERMANENT MUSEUM HOME for Effie’s art in Arizona - open to the public - and dedicated to expanding the visibility and greater public appreciation of the art and inspiring life story of Arizona’s Pioneer Painter - Effie Anderson Smith.
Steven (L) with Lewis (R) c. 1984
About Steven Carlson…
My passion for the arts began early. While others in the family had artistic gifts for drawing and painting, I initially gravitated toward music. In the 1970s I became a commercial classical music radio presenter and later served as music director and senior manager for two classical public radio networks based in St. Paul and Los Angeles.
In the online world, I founded the Fine Arts News Service in 1997, and more recently - beginning in 2005 - I served as Director of Music and Media for InstantEncore.com in beautiful San Diego.
Originally from Upstate New York, my media work took me to roles in several great cities of the Midwest, Southeast, and Mountain West. More recently, the Effie Museum project in Arizona and my media work in California have become my bases. The Los Angeles and Tucson metro areas are where you will most often find me these days, when I’m not on the road with an exhibit of Effie Anderson Smith paintings.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Brian Ballard of Old Pearce Preservation Association, and Douglas historian Cindy Hayostek, for their encouragement, help and many insightful contributions. Their knowledge and understanding of the communities where Effie Anderson Smith spent the majority of her life make my research much easier and tangible. And their perspectives on the history of Pearce, Douglas, and Cochise County keep these places as interesting to read about and visit, as ever.
Thanks also to Phyllis Rogers Martin and Wilda Marshall Brown, Effie's great-grand nieces, whose insights into Effie's family history and early days in Arkansas, New Mexico, and Arizona have filled in many gaps and illuminated the near and distant past.
Phyllis has especially been generous with her time and knowledge, confirming faces in photos, providing historic documentation, and sharing the fruits of her many productive years of genealogical research on the Andersons back to colonial days and beyond.
Our research continues.
Special thanks to Scott Barnebey for offering his expertise and aesthetic sensibilities in creating the prominent graphical elements of this site. And to Susan Ballard for her willingness to edit my ramblings, and assist with getting the word out about the E.A. Smith painting exhibits.
Effie believed the arts are an essential and integral part of the human experience. I feel privileged to play a role in preserving Effie's legacy, and keeping it alive.
Exhibits & Talks
The Effie Anderson Smith Museum and Archive is interested in working with individuals and institutions to increase awareness of Effie Anderson Smith (Mrs. A. Y.) as "the Dean of Arizona Women Artists", through exhibits and talks, ranging from single day events as well as exhibits of longer duration.
