1906-1965. US sculptor and painter, whose
work made a lasting impact on sculpture after
World War II. He trained as a steel welder in
a car factory. His pieces are large openwork
metal abstracts. Smith turned first to
painting and then, about 1930, to sculpture.
Using welded steel, he created abstract
structures influenced by the metal sculptures
of Picasso. In the 1940s and 1950s he
developed a more linear style. The Cubi
series of totemlike abstracts, some of them
painted, was designed to be placed in the
open air.