Dorothy Carleton Smyth (1880 – 16 February 1933) was a Scottish artist, a compatriot of

Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Rennie Mackintosh (7 June 1868 – 10 December 1928) was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist. His artistic approach had much in common with European Symbolism. His work, alongside that of his wife Margaret Macd ...

, active in theatrical and costuming design, and one of the leading lights at the

Glasgow School of Art The Glasgow School of Art (GSA; ) is a higher education art school based in Glasgow, Scotland, offering undergraduate degrees, post-graduate awards (both taught and research-led), and PhDs in architecture, fine art, and design. These are all awa ...

during the post WWI period. Her association with the

Arts & Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the Decorative arts, decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and ...

in England and Scotland, together with her work in fine book-binding, illustration, and faculty leadership at the GSA, place her at the hub of the

Golden Age of Illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation, or visual explanation of a text, concept, or process, designed for integration in print and digitally published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vi ...

. Named, in 1933, as GSA's first female director—by a unanimous vote of the School's governing board—her tragic early death by brain hemorrhage in that same year deprived Scotland of an accomplished, active and internationally respected proponent of Scottish art.

Early life and family

Smyth was born in

Cambuslang Cambuslang (, from ) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th-largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a town hall, it may also be cons ...

near

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1880 to Elizabeth Ramage and a jute manufacturer, William Hugh Smyth; her parents originated from France and Ireland, respectively. Although the family moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in the 1880s, Smyth returned to Glasgow to study, as did her sister, Olive (1882–1949), who also became an artist . A third sister, Rose, became a composer.

Education: The Arts & Crafts Movement

Between 1885 and 1893 Smyth attended the Colonel Clark's School in Manchester and the

Manchester High School for Girls Manchester High School for Girls is an English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private day school for girls and a member of the Girls School Association. It is situated in Fallowfield, Manchester. The head mistress is Helen Jeys who took ...

. She studied under

Walter Crane Walter Crane (15 August 184514 March 1915) was an English artist and book illustrator. He is considered to be the most influential, and among the most prolific, children's book creators of his generation and, along with Randolph Caldecott and Ka ...

at the

Manchester School of Art Manchester School of Art on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road in Manchester, England, was established in 1838 as the Manchester School of Design. It is the second-oldest art school in the United Kingdom after the Royal College of Art which was founded ...

between 1893 and 1897. Crane, an advocate of the

Arts and Crafts Movement The Arts and Crafts movement was an international trend in the decorative and fine arts that developed earliest and most fully in the British Isles and subsequently spread across the British Empire and to the rest of Europe and America. Initiat ...

, espoused the practical application of the arts for books, clothing, and the use of artisanal craft in all aspects production. Smyth's work for bookbinder Cedric Chivers during this period, a publisher of handcrafted editions of popular works such as ''The Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson'' and ''The Jungle Book'' by Rudyard Kipling, seems a natural extension of her work with Crane, impressively, Smyth was already such an accomplished illustrator that she was trusted not merely with interior design-work (as in her illustrations to Chivers's Jungle Book edition) but also with designs for the elaborately hand-colored covers of these luxorious "vellucent" hand crafted books. The Arts and Crafts Movement was additionally an advocate for developing a sense of place; it is therefore not surprising that, following these first years of training, Smyth,, chose, at the age of 18, to return to Scotland and her early home, to continue her studies at the

(GSA). By the time she had begun her study at Glasgow (1898), Smyth's interest had become focused on theatre and costume design, "her fascination with exotic clothes" leading her to active participation in the many student-produced plays and masques within the school.

Career

Smyth's work, with its elegant,

art nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

aesthetic, stood out from her student days. Her

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

window
Tristan and Iseult
' was selected for exhibition at the Glasgow International Exhibition (1901), even before she had received her diploma. Following her graduation from GSA (1902), an anonymous female patron paid for her membership in the Glasgow Society of Lady Artists and financed her travel to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and Switzerland to "study the European masters". In 1903, she was commissioned by Craibe Angus to exhibit in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. Later that same year, through the GSLA, Smyth would meet F.R. Benson, a theatrical producer who hired Smyth for his touring company. She would spend the next decade traveling and producing costume-work.

Touring with the Theatre Companies, 1904-1914

Smyth's work for Benson including the costumes for a number of Shakespearean festivals in Stratford, for Benson and other theatrical companies, as well as work for pageants, festivals, and the "tableaux" that remained popular during this period. Alongside this travel, Smyth retained her Glaswegian connections. In 1912, she was in Glasgow, organizing the committee for a holiday "pageant tableau," working for the Glasgow Repertory Company, and the Quinlan Opera Company. With her sister, Olive, and several other female artists from Glasgow, Smyth helped found the Sister Studios which offered classes in a variety of disciplines including metalwork, embroidery and ceramic decoration. This work gave Smyth detailed managerial experience that would serve her well on her permanent return to Glasgow to take up a teaching post at her old school.

Gallery: Theatrical Costumes

File:Smyth-Donalbain.jpg, Costume design for Donalbain. File:Macduff (from Macbeth).jpg, Costume design for Macduff, from Shakespeare's ''Macbeth.'' File:Lennox from Macbeth.jpg, Costume design for Lennox, from Shakespeare's ''Macbeth.'' File:The English Doctor (from Macbeth).jpg, Costume design for the English Doctor, from Shakespeare's ''Macbeth.'' File:Dorothy C Smyth, Servants of the Queen, Costume Design for Oscar Wilde's Salome.jpg, Dorothy C Smyth, ''Servants of the Queen'', Costume Design for Oscar Wilde's Salome File:Dorothy C Smyth, Salome, Costume Design for Oscar Wilde's Salome.jpg, Dorothy C Smyth, ''Salome'', Costume Design for Oscar Wilde's Salome.

Teaching and Work in Illustration

In 1914, she returned to GSA to teach, simultaneously continuing her work as a professional artist creating "book illustrations, sculptures, silverwork and portraits" for commercial businesses and private individuals.

Leadership Appointments at the GSA

In 1927, Smyth was appointed head of the Commercial Art Department (1927), where she remained until 1933. In early 1933, Smyth was offered the full Directorship of GSA, "perhaps the first women to be offered such a post within a higher education institution." Smyth accepted, however, she died little more than a month later, from a massive brain hemorrhage.

Legacy

Smyth lived with her sisters for much of her life. Olive Smyth was also at GSA during this period, teaching fashion. In 1921, aged 41, she painted ''Self Portrait.'' This piece shows her in her studio with brushes, canvas and paint palette, and smiling at the onlooker. Olive Carleton Smyth presented the painting to Glasgow Museums in 1948. Following Smyth's untimely death on February 16, 1933, in her Cambuslang home, W.O. Hutchinson took up GSA Directorship. Considering "the glowing reports regarding her work and teaching. We can only wonder what the School would have been like now if it had had its first female director in 1933!" Olive took up the position of Head of Design at GSA. She was highly praised and supported by Fra Newbury. Her circle has posthumously been described as the ' Glasgow Girls' group of artists.

References

External links

* Dorothy Carleton Smyth, ''Scenes from Shakespeare'' (1905) 6 mixed media panels, painted on wood, Antiques Roadshow Appraisal * Dorothy Carleton Smyth, ''Tabbard, Dagger, Purse'' (1910) various media, Victoria and Albert Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Dorothy Carleton 1880 births 1933 deaths Alumni of the Glasgow School of Art Artists from Glasgow People educated at Manchester High School for Girls Scottish artists Scottish women artists People from Cambuslang Academics of the Glasgow School of Art Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish people of French descent Scottish women painters Glasgow Society of Women Artists member