“He was a talented artist who dedicated his time to his artwork.” – Stuart Smith, Vernon Smith’s eldest son.
“Oh, that dreaded-ness.”
That’s how Sheryl Smith-Rogers described COVID-19, the disease that stole her uncle, Vernon Smith’s life on Feb. 13, 2022.
In a sense, a local fixture of black history was lost during Black history month. Smith, 86, was a well-known visual artist who came to fame during the late 1960s and ‘70s. He was an original member of the St. Louis Black Artist Group (BAG). During its most active years, (1968-1972), BAG members took militant pride in black history, culture, and traditions. Smith was among nationally recognized creatives, such as musicians Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett and painters such as Emilio Cruz and Oliver Jackson, whose work was recently exhibited at the St. Louis Art Museum.
“Vernon was the talk of the town among the local arts community. Everybody kept asking me ‘have you met Vernon?’” – Robert Powell, Founder of Portfolio Gallery
“Vernon was one of the first artists I met when I came to St. Louis from Oakland California in 1979,” Robert Powell, founder of Portfolio Art Gallery recalled. Smith was among the litany of local black artists Powell featured at his gallery formerly located in the St. Louis arts district.
“Vernon was the talk of the town among the arts community. Everybody kept asking me ‘have you met Vernon?’ He was an outstanding portrait artist who painted recognizable figures. He could look at something and then replicate it.”
Smith was also an educator and black history scholar. Family and friends say he was most passionate about Africans in Biblical times before and after the death of Christ.
“He had a philosophy on black history and everything he did came from that perspective,” Powell added. “He was always teaching and would get upset with you if you didn’t understand what he was saying or if you debated him on what he knew.”
Dexter Silvers, the founder of Dexter’s Art Studio in South St. Louis, studied figure drawing under Smith at Meramec Community College in the early 1970s. He and Smith, his teacher, became good friends, Silvers said, adding that Smith would drop by his house unannounced during the holidays or anytime really, just to hang out. Silvers also recalled visiting Smith’s Hobnail Gallery on Lee & Newstead Avenues.
“It was a two-family flat, converted into one house. It was full of artwork, and he had a shed in the back where he stored his custom-made lamps.”
Smith’s niece, Sheryl Smith-Rogers, remembers the gallery as a “beautiful, wonderful place” where Smith allowed her to “be free” and explore the world of black art. While describing the life and times of “Uncle Vernon,” Smith-Rogers glanced at one of his portraits hanging on her wall.
“It’s my favorite picture,” she said, referring to the watercolor drawing of a dark-skinned little African girl, with a shy, inviting smile, wearing a colorful floral headband and a checkered blouse.
The Hobnail gallery was started around 1980 after Smith separated from his wife, his eldest son, Stuart Smith, said. Although born in St. Louis, Stuart’s mother took him and his younger brother to California after the separation. Stuart spent 40 years in California before coming back to St. Louis in 2019. What was supposed to be a “Thanksgiving visit,” turned into a permanent situation. Stuart, who rehabs houses, decided to stay in town to care for his ailing parents. His mother is doing better but his father was losing his eyesight from glaucoma and, in 2021 Smith had a stroke, which Stuart believes contributed to the onset of dementia.
Both Stuart and his aunt said Smith’s only complaint was about slowly losing his sight.
“Imagine not being able to fulfill your creative purpose,” Smith-Rogers said. “Losing his sight was horrible for him. I would give him projects or assignments, asking him to draw something for me. He’d try but it took him the longest time.”
Despite his health challenges, Silvers and Smith’s son and niece described him as the picture of health for a man his age. Smith was an advocate of healthy eating and living.
“He was mobile and very strong,” Stuart recalled. “He didn’t believe in taking his medicines though. I didn’t know about it, but it got to a point where he was legally blind. After the stroke, he didn’t have the same frame of mind, mostly because of his eyes.”
Although he resisted traditional medications, His family did convince Smith to get his COVID-19 vaccinations.
“We caught him on a day when he wasn’t fighting,” Stuart added jokingly.
In late January, Stuart got a call from the assisted living facility where Smith resided. He was told his father was listless, not eating and breathing laboriously. Smith was diagnosed with COVID at DePaul Hospital and was immediately placed on life support. His son said he never regained consciousness and, being the oldest son, he was assigned the heartbreaking task of taking his father off life support.
“We knew he didn’t want to be in that condition,” Stuart stated.
Within seven minutes off the life-sustaining equipment, Vernon Smith passed away.
Monica McFee, family friend and arts educator, said the family is in the process of curating and cataloging Smith’s work. There is much interest among the local arts community in Smith’s art, McFee said.
A memorial for Smith is planned for Saturday, March 12, 2022. The family is still working on the final details.
When asked to describe his father’s legacy, Stuart responded succinctly.
“He was a talented artist who dedicated his time to his artwork. He never made the kind of money he wanted, but he did what he wanted in life,” Stuart said, adding: “We had our differences, but he was still my dad and I love him.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is The St. Louis American’s inaugural Deaconess Fellow.
I was introduced to Vernon Smith in the 1980’s by a mutual friend Charles Walker. Another St. Louis artist. Smith’s work is powerful as was his views. I was honored and lucky enough to purchase two of his works. He’ll never be forgotten.