Alvin (Allen) Smith
Designation
BiographyAllen (Alvin) Smith was born in Dighton, Massachusetts and attended the National Academy of Design in New York City as a young man. His first experience as a painter included working in the scene-painting department at the Bowery Theater. Smith moved to Detroit in 1835, working there for six years before moving to Cleveland. While in Detroit, he designed and painted Michigan’s first state flag, which featured a full-length depiction of Stevens T. Mason. He also painted genre scenes, often including children. The most famous of these scenes is The Young Mechanic, which he sold to New York City’s American Art-Union. Smith also painted portraits, and his best-known sitters included Ohio Governor Tod, Wisconsin Governor Fairchild, and the presidents of Western Reserve and Kenyon College. In 1848, he painted a set of six portraits of the founding teachers of Western Reserve College’s medical department. In his later years, Smith relocated to Painesville, Ohio and focused on landscape painting.
