Old Glass Factory

Old Glass Factory depicts a rural landscape featuring a small unconventional factory settled within a deep valley. In the foreground, a dirt path curves from the lower left corner of the piece, drawing the viewer's eye into the midground and focus of the scene. In the midground, two thin, tall trees with autumn leaves stand parallel to each other framing the main building behind them, providing a sense of balance in the painting despite its overall asymmetrical composition. In the background, we see an extension of the hilly landscape that creates an image of isolation as the structures stand alone in the open hills.  

Smith uses contrast to distinctly separate the foreground from this landscape backdrop. The hills fading into the skyline with a similar color palette amongst them forces the land closer to us to pop as it’s more saturated.  

As far as technique, Smith uses a combination of broad blended brushstrokes in the background to soften forms and reinforce the perspective. On the factory building itself, however, he utilizes thinner, controlled brush strokes to create sharper lines that accentuate the important foreground subjects. He uses color to create a quiet, fresh, calming atmosphere. Warmer tones dominate the piece however the natural aspects of the piece such as the grassy hills and the autumn trees, contrast the manufactured structures that are made up of deeper and more neutral tones.  

About the Artist

The painter of this work cannot be attributed with confidence, as yet, in part due to three artists with the same name and a lack of clear provenance.

One candidate is Edward Gregory Smith (1880-1961), a Connecticut landscape painting and longtime president of the Lyme Art Association. Consultation with that organization noted that he signed his work as "Gregory Smith" and, as a lifelong Republican, probably would have been hostile to participation in Roosevelt's Federal Art Project. 

Another candidate is Edward Herndon Smith (1891-1979), a painter from Mobile, AL who was employed in the FAP as an artist (1935) and then superviser (1936-1940). He continued to paint and create murals after WWII. Research into this possiblility is ongoing.

Finally, Edward Leslie Smith (1891-1960) was a commercial artist in Oakland, CA but had no documented connection to the FAP.