Daniel Smith

A commercial illustrator by training, Daniel Smith enjoyed public attention early on. In 1987, his portrayal of snow geese was selected to appear on the federal U.S. duck stamp, an honor that established him as one of the top sporting artists of his generation. He also was commissioned by the National Geographic Society to contribute color plates to its popular Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

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The Minnesota native, who has lived in the outskirts of Bozeman, Montana, for nearly two decades, moved to the American West to reside closer to the wild places featured in his work. Smith’s meticulous field research and insistence on directly observing the animals he paints is driven by a personal penchant to achieve greater authenticity.

Over the past decade, Daniel Smith’s paintings have become part of major public and private collections and have been exhibited at such venues as the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming; the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles; the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis; the Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in Oradell, New Hampshire; the Wildlife Experience in Parker, Colorado; the Bennington, Vermont Center for the Arts; and the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. In 2009 Smith received the Harrison Eiteljorg Purchase Award for Still Water Crossing at the Eiteljorg Museum’s Quest for the West Art Show and Sale.

“Dan Smith is unique in his approach to painting,” says John Geraghty, special advisor to the annual Masters of the American West Fine Art Exhibition and Sale held at the Autry National Center of the American West in Los Angeles. “When viewing his art, I am impressed by the meticulous attention to detail, the purity of realism, and conspicuous depth of knowledge in his subject matter.”

Daniel Smith is represented by Settlers West Galleries Inc., Tucson, Arizona; and Trailside Galleries, Jackson, Wyoming, and Scottsdale, Arizona. Giclée reproductions of his work are available through Greenwich Workshop dealers.