Charles William Smith (1893-1987) studied at the University of Virginia, the Corcoran Art School, and Yale University School of Fine Arts. After teaching at several colleges and working as a commercial artist, he became chair of the art department at Bennington College from 1936 to 1947. Smith then moved to teaching at the University of Virginia from 1947 until his retirement in 1963, where he was the first chairman of the art department. In the 1940s his artwork ventured beyond representational printmaking using a method he called "block painting" to explore abstract forms.
