Robert E. Smith mural

Robert E. Smith, a new book published by Moon City Press, edited by Eric Pervukhin, Professor of Art and Design and artist Carla Stine will be featured at an editors’ and contributors’ reception on Monday, September 19, 2011 at 7:30 p.m. in the Creamery Art Center Exhibition Hall, 411 N. Sherman Parkway. Formal book sales will begin at the Missouri Literary Festival, September 23-25, 2011. For more information, go to this article on our News page.

Robert E. Smith is a nationally known folk and “outsider” artist.  His paintings have been featured at New York City’s prestigious Museum of American Folk Art and sold at distinguished galleries coast-to-coast.  he has also been featured in The Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century American Folk Art.  His unique visions, brimming with color, humor and incident, represent a triumph of the imagination over a strenuous and difficult life.

In 2007, the Missouri State University Art & Design Gallery had a retrospective show of his work that drew visitors and collectors from as far as Chicago, Omaha, and Nashville. In 2010 Smith was posthumously awarded the Ozzie Legacy Award by the Springfield Regional Arts Council. For more information and links to his work, go to the Robert E. Smith, artist website

Based on the original painting by Robert E. Smith, this mural on the corner of Campbell & Walnut Street was painted by Chris Friese on the side of the former Corner Printing, now home of Fresh – a collective gallery of fine art and craft. The project was commissioned by the Springfield Program for Public Art, and funding was raised by an art auction of Robert’s painting and through the support and donations from many supporters of Smith’s work, both in Springfield and around the country.

Robert often hand-wrote stories to accompany his paintings, sometimes taped to the back of the canvas along with a cassette-recording of the story. Below is the written story that accompanies the original painting:

The Colonial Hotel and Downtown Park Central Square by Robert E. Smith

This story painting is about the Colonial Hotel in 1975 and Downtown Park Central Square. The year 1975 when I first moved here from Columbia, MISSOURI: Lime Music Company and Television VIDEO was on the corner of Jefferson Street and McDaniels Street. But you couldn’t see McDaniels Street in the painting. The Music Company had a PIANO advertised and a MOVIE VIDEO Advertised in the store window. Continued on page 2

Page 2

There were three business places on the ground level and front of the Colonial Hotel. One was Jordan Fur Art Company, Lylee Art Studio and TipTop Shoe Shine and Repair Shop. At the northwest corner of Colonial Hotel facing Park Central Square was Rendezvous Restaurant. It was quite a thriving restaurant.
Elvis Presley had been a guest at the hotel, and he was standing outside with a blue suit by his guitar and getting ready to go back and join Ray Charles who was playing a PIANO further back in the square near the water pond. James Duncan was standing on the sidewalk holding his trombone. James wore a purple SHIRT, yellow pants and green hat.

Page 3

A little dog was walking on the SIDEWALK in front of the hotel and Rodney Jones a blonde haired BOY wearing a blue SHIRT and yellow pants was RIDING on his green skating board. Gerald Tyler a young black haired man wearing a black and orange shirt and green pants stood on the red BRICK sidewalk by the Rendevous Restaurant HOLDING A GLASS OF BEER. Gary Crosby Wilson a mailman for the Springfield Post Office stood by a Buyers File Company holding HIS mailbag and resting and thinking

Page 4

because of space on THIS DRAWING board and toward the painting out RIGHT where you could see some of the Park Water Pond and Fountain in the SQUARE I could only show the small building next to the hotel and not the McDaniels Building on the other side. I DID GOOD TO get part of the Woodruff Building and Post Office Building facing the square and Jefferson Street.

Page 5

The Red Brick SIDEwalk was on each SIDE of the square. You could see a green Bench here and there and a sandbox with a plant in it. UNCLE Fudd’s Cafe was in the Woodruff Post Office Building. A Mailbox stood by the POST office Building. This one DAY the square was closed to traffic. Ray Charles was sitting on a stool by a PIANO GETTING ready to play the PIANO. Ray who was blind wore HIS dark colored glasses, and green coat and purple pants.

Page 6

Julie a Blonde haired girl wearing a RED BLOUSE and Blue SKIRT was doing an odd DANCE to Ray Charles MUSIC. Baby Charley was SITTING in the street holding a cherry ICE Cream cone. Baby Charley had blonde hair and wore green pants. A Yellow and green station wagon was parked in the square street. A Purple and yellow vending truck rode up Jefferson Street advertising MAHANEY’S Doughnuts.