Adirondacks, 1874
Paris, 1875
circa 1875-1877
circa 1910
Portraits (left to right): drawing by Kruseman Van Elton; etching by Frederick Gortelmeyer;
painting by James Carroll Beckwith(?); photograph by Russoff
​
​
Do you have a painting, drawing, or etching by Calvin?
​We would love to learn the history and get a photograph of the artwork (with frame) for our website.
If you are interested in selling a work by Calvin, we may be interested.
This website is put together by a descendant of Calvin's, so if you are related we would love to hear from you.
Please contact us at: CalvinRaeSmith@zoho.com or use the form at the bottom of this page.
​
​
Calvin Rae Smith (originally named Calvin Mortimer Smith) was an artist in New York City. He was born on November 12, 1847, the son of John Calvin Smith and Christina Rae Smith. His father was a well-known map maker who produced many maps that are still being collected. Calvin trained with Lemuel Wilmarth at the Academy of Design and with Arthur Parton in New York, and was awarded first prize in the National Academy Life School in 1873. He went to Paris to study in the studio of Carolus-Duran (1874-1879) and at l'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris with Diogene Maillart and Adolphe Yvon. Calvin first exhibited at the Salon, Paris, in 1878, and had paintings at many major exhibits in his lifetime.
​
He was a professor of Drawing and Art at the College of the City of New York (CCNY) from 1880 to his retirement in 1917. He was one of the co-founders of the Brooklyn Art Club in 1879 and a member of the Salmagundi Club.
Calvin painted many landscapes early in his career, but focused on portraiture and genre painting after his training in Paris.
​
He is also well known for having developed the first commercial single-lens reflex camera, the "Monocular Duplex".
​
In 1886 he married Eleanor Maria Cornell, the daughter of Charles Russell Cornell and Hanna Avery Cornell. She was the niece of Samuel Putnam Avery, the New York art dealer, collector, and one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (a building at Columbia University is named after his son, the architect). Calvin and Ella had three children: Cornell Rae Smith (1890-1923) , Marion Louise Smith (1893-1972), and Charles Russell Avery Smith (1895-1969). Calvin lived in Brooklyn, New York, for most of his professional life.
​
Note that many sites incorrectly list his year of birth as 1850; it is actually November 12, 1847, as confirmed by birth records and by notes in his diaries on this date, such as "27th birthday today".
Also note the birth date on his gravestone: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57675227/calvin-rae-smith
Most of his paintings are signed "C. Rae Smith", "C.R. Smith" or "CRS", but some early paintings are signed "Calvin M. Smith"
​
The "Gallery" page of this website shows photographs of all of his paintings that we have found to date. The "Paintings" page lists paintings that we are aware of, and would like to get photographs of - see below for information about where to contact us.
He evidently also produced miniature portraits on ivory - we would especially like to get photographs of these.
​
​
Other Websites of Interest:
​
Calvin's drawing at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts: https://www.pafa.org/collection/fairy-tales
​
Portrait of Calvin by Kruseman Van Elten:
http://adirondack.pastperfectonline.com/webobject/25C8AAD3-A9D5-414E-AC25-194102960470
​
Photograph of Calvin (back left, drawing on canvas) with Kruseman Van Elten, J. Francis Murphy, Roswell Shurtleff and Arthur Parton
http://adirondack.pastperfectonline.com/photo/73558A80-D4EA-4638-9BFF-841857809193
​
Henry Grant Plumb - One of Calvin's best friends: https://henrygrantplumb.com/
​
My photography website: https://thomaslpratt.wixsite.com/pratt-photography
​
​