George Edward “Ed” Smith grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As a pre-teen, a summer art appreciation session at the Fort Wayne Art School opened Ed’s young eyes to what seemed almost another world.

During World War II, he flew B-17s in Europe for America’s Eight Air Force. Shot down over Germany, Ed spent more than 16 months in a prison camp until liberated in May of 1945.

“It’s rather amazing how prison camp increases and sharpens your powers of observation and appreciation for the simplest of surroundings. Not that I’d recommend it for everyone”.

After his return to the USA, Ed’s first formal training took him to Cincinnati’s Central Academy and the Cincinnati School of Art for commercial art training, and later to Chicago’s American Academy to study illustration, and finally to the Art Institute, where his interest in fine arts became a lifelong reality.

Meanwhile, Ed became known primarily for his talents in the field of advertising, joining agencies headquartered in Chicago and St. Louis, to work on an impressive variety of major national accounts as a director of design and illustration.

Like most serious artists, his choice of subjects reflects his own long-term interests. In a recently published collection dedicated entirely to his “Helen”, Ed displays how one consuming object of his attention and appreciation can result in a wide-ranging display of talent and technique.

This is an artist whose accomplishments richly deserve their accolades.