Very little is known about Dana Smith, the supposed painter of the National Gallery's painting Southern Resort Town (1971.83.11) and New Hampshire Panorama (also a Garbisch gift, to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). According to the Garbisch records, he was born in New Hampshire in 1805, lived in Franklin where he painted local scenes and died in 1901, but no trace of him has been found in Franklin genealogical sources. The origin of the Smith attributions is unknown. [This is an edited version of the artist's biography published in the NGA Systematic Catalogue]
Artist Bibliography
1992
Chotner, Deborah, with contributions by Julie Aronson, Sarah D. Cash, and Laurie Weitzenkorn. American Naive Paintings. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1992: 358-360.