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Graham David Smith (1937–2021) was a British artist and writer. He also worked in the USA under the name Paul Cline.


Biography

Born in the East End, Smith attended Walthamstow College of Art where in 1956 he met and became the lover of
Eric Hebborn Eric Hebborn (20 March 1934 – 11 January 1996) was an English painter, draughtsman, art forger, and later an author. Early life Eric Hebborn was born in South Kensington, London, in 1934. His mother was born in Brighton and his father in Oxfo ...
, who was to become a notorious art forger. Smith moved on to the
Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
and Hebborn to the
Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...
, but the couple stayed together for the next 13 years. Upon Hebborn's return from a two-year stay in Italy after winning the Academy's Prix-de-Rome, the couple lived together in the run-down Cumberland Hotel in
Highbury Highbury is an area of North London, England, in the London Borough of Islington. Highbury Manor Highbury was once owned by Ranulf, brother of Ilger, and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Roads. The manor hou ...
. They set up business buying and selling art, and spent many hours scouring junk shops for bargains. They befriended Marie Gray, who owned a shop near
Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...
, and it was at her suggestion and from her stock that they used blank sheets of period paper upon which Hebborn could create original drawings, while Smith 'antiqued' them. In 1963 they moved to Italy and opened a gallery, which attracted the attention of several of the art cognoscenti of the day. Notable amongst them was Sir
Anthony Blunt Anthony Frederick Blunt (26 September 1907 – 26 March 1983), (formerly styled Sir Anthony Blunt from 1956 until November 1979), was a leading British art historian and a Soviet spy. Blunt was a professor of art history at the University ...
, who often stayed with the couple when visiting Rome. Smith and Hebborn grew apart and in 1969 Smith returned to London. He moved into fabric and wallpaper design, creating stylised designs of trees, flowers, birds and animals for
Jean Muir Jean Elizabeth Muir ( ; 17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer. Early life and career Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father was ...
and
Osborne & Little Osborne & Little is a British manufacturer and retailer of upmarket wallpaper and fabrics. It was established in 1968 and now has showrooms worldwide. It was among the brands included in the Victoria and Albert Museum's ''British Design 1948–2 ...
, amongst others. In the late 1970s Smith relocated with his lover John Elliker to California, and again changed artistic direction, now working in book illustration under the name Paul Cline. After Elliker died in 1987, Smith began to create a series of erotic drawings influenced by the medieval
Dance of Death The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory from the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death. The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of death, summoning represen ...
, and the resurrection of the genre by the Mexican artist
José Guadalupe Posada José Guadalupe Posada Aguilar (2 February 1852 – 20 January 1913) was a Mexican political printmaker who used relief printing to produce popular illustrations. His work has influenced numerous Latin American artists and cartoonists becaus ...
. These reflected his horror at the impact of AIDS on the homosexual community. Geraldine Norman, in her article in ''The Independent'' refers to them as 'terrifying' and states that they use 'a highly finished academic style, reminiscent of the fine drawing taught by 19th century French academies'. They were exhibited in the Rita Dean gallery in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
. At this time Smith also lived a parallel life on the fringe of the hustler community in Los Angeles. He became friendly with
Rick Castro Rick Castro (July 20, 1958) is an American photography, photographer, motion picture director, stylist, curator and writer whose work focuses on BDSM, fetish, and desire. Early life Castro began work as a fashion stylist and clothing designer. O ...
and memorably appeared as Ambrose Sapperstein in his 1996 movie ''
Hustler White ''Hustler White'' is a 1996 Satire (film and television), satirical black comedy film written and directed by Rick Castro and Bruce LaBruce. Starring Tony Ward (entertainer), Tony Ward and LaBruce, the film follows a group of Male prostitution, h ...
''.''Hustler White'' directed by Rick Castro &
Bruce LaBruce Bruce LaBruce (born January 3, 1964) is a Canadian artist, writer, filmmaker, photographer, and underground director based in Toronto. Life and career LaBruce was born in Tiverton, Ontario. He has claimed both Justin Stewart and Bryan Bruce a ...
, 1996
Smith's autobiography was published in 1996, which, he said, he wrote partly to refute some of the claims of Hebborn's own autobiographical work. In 1997 Smith returned to London. He continued to write, mainly poetry, and to create further tableaux drawings on death and homo-erotic themes, until his death in 2021.


Works

* ''Fools, clowns and jesters'' by Paul Cline, Green Tiger Press, 1984 * ''Mama, were you ever young?'' by John Williams Hay, Paul Cline and Judythe Sieck, Little Simon Press, 1989 * ''Amy and Nathaniel'' by Welleran Poltarnees and Paul Cline, Simon & Schuster, 1989 * ''Booboo's dream'' by Paul Cline and Judythe Sieck, Simon & Schuster, 1990 * ''My mothers' hands'' by Paul Cline and Sheila McGraw, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1991 * ''Ginger's moon'' by Paul Cline and Judythe Sieck, Green Tiger Press, 1991 * ''Grummit's day'' by Paul Cline and Patricia Graham Rogers, Simon & Schuster, 1991 * ''My father's hands'' by Sheila McGraw and Paul Cline, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1992 * ''The Angel who forgot'' by Elisa Bartone and Paul Cline, Simon & Schuster, 1992 * ''A Most memorable birthday'' by Welleran Poltarnees, Paul Cline and Judythe Sieck, Simon & Schuster, 1993 * ''Celebration: the autobiography of Graham David Smith'' by Graham David Smith, Mainstream, 1996


External links


Graham David Smith Home Page


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Graham David 1937 births 2021 deaths English gay artists 20th-century English LGBTQ people English illustrators English writers 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters English designers Alumni of Walthamstow College of Art LGBTQ people from London 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists