Will Larrymore Smedley Fine Art Auction

Mark your calendars for the Will Larrymore Smedley Art Auction Friday, July 13 at 5 pm in the Patterson Library Octagon Gallery!  Preview of the auction will be Tuesday -Friday from 9 - 5 pm in the gallery. Mary Ellen Sheridan of Asheville, NC and Chautauqua are selling her collection of paintings.  Will Larrymore Smedley was a true Renaissance man- an engineer, artist, naturalist, craftsman, teacher, and writer. Born in 1871 in Sandyville, Ohio and graduated Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland.  Smedley's family visited Chautauqua from its founding and he and his father graduated from CSC's second class in 1883. Marrying a Pittsburgh/Chautauqua girl, Adelaide Wilson and their only child Rose Thaline they spent their summers in Chautauqua and their winters in New York City and Philadelphia.  During his long career, he taught at the School of Art And Design in Philadelphia and created some special works for Roycroft in East Aurora.  He designed houses built in Cleveland, made furniture, illustrated Liberty Hyde Bailey's Fist Encyclopedia of Horticulture (Cornell University) involving four hundred drawings, exhibited works in Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York City, Philadelphia, Buffalo Albright Knox and Jamestown.  He wrote articles and answered queries in the New York Times, Buffalo papers, New York Herald Tribune, and Cleveland Plain Dealer.  He also wrote for the American Museum of Natural History, New York City, and to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Smedley wrote articles, stories, poetry, and limericks drawing him to Mark Twain's writings resulting in a lively correspondence between the two.  Smedley was a member of the Cleveland Watercolor Society, American Watercolor Society, American Miniature Painters Society, The National Society of Craftsman, The society artists and Illustrators, Philadelphia Academy, National Association of Audubon Societies and was voted in a member of the National Geographic Society.  His many styles, realistic, impressionistic, botanical drawings, portraits, nouveau and magazine illustrations will be represented in this auction by Matthew Wroda Auctions.  For more information: http://www.matthewwrodaauctions.com/