[William Thompson] Russell Smith

Smith undertook a journey to Europe from 1851-52, spending his summers in Wales, Switzerland, and Italy and he painted during winters in London and Paris. Like other artists of the mid-19th century, he was largely influenced by the writings of the English art critic, John Ruskin, who advocated both Joseph M.W. Turner’s grand, Romantic landscapes and the truth-to-nature ideal of the English Pre-Raphaelites.