Michael A. Smith

"I have always believed that it is how one sees rather than what one sees that makes any photograph interesting. Whether I photograph in the natural or the urban landscape, the challenge always is to balance the allure of the subject matter with my own visual concerns and sense of abstraction."
-Michael A. Smith

Michael A. Smith started to photograph in 1966. Though he initially worked exclusively with an 8 x 10 inch. view camera and contact prints, he added both a 8 x 20 inch. and a 19 x 22 inch. camera to his repertoire. Smith taught for seven and a half years, but stopped teaching in order to fully dedicate himself to his photography.

Smith's principal subject matter is the landscape, both natural and urban, though he worked on a series of portraits made in Phoenix, Arizona. Smith has exhibited his work in over 200 exhibitions, including a 25-year retrospective exhibition at the International Museum of Photography at the Eastman House in Rochester, New York in 1992. Smith's dramatic black and white landscapes were published in 1981 in his first book, Landscapes 1975-1979, and awarded Le Grand Prix du Livre Photographique at the Rencontres Internationale de la Photographie in Arles, France.

Smith thoroughly traveled the continental United States as well as numerous international locations. His later photographic expeditions were to Baja, California, and Iceland with his wife, the photographer Paula Chamlee.

The Michener Art Museum has held a number of exhibitions of Smith's work including Michael A. Smith: A Visual Journey (1991-1992) and Photographs by Michael A. Smith (2002). Smith's and Paula's work were included in the 2018 exhibition entitled View Finders: Four Photographic Voices at the Michener Art Museum.

Connection to Bucks County
Michael Smith and his wife, photographer Paula Chamlee, moved to Ottsville in 1977. He designed and built their home and studio. It took fourteen years to complete.

Colleagues and Affiliations
Smith was married to photographer Paula Chamlee. The pair traveled together to photograph different regions of the United States as well as a number of international locations for several months per year.
Smith also taught with the photographer Bruce Katsiff, whom he met at the Art Department of Bucks County Community College.

Major Solo Exhibitions
The Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1966
Gallery 3515, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1966
Tinicum Art Center, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, 1968
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1970
The 831 Photographic Gallery, Birmingham, Michigan, 1970
Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1971
The George School, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1971
Solebury School, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1972
University of Pennsylvania Faculty Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1974
Overseas Press Club, New York City, New York, 1975
Hemisphere Club, New York City, New York, 1975
Photopia Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1976
University of Oklahoma Museum of Art, Norman, Oklahoma, 1976
Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska, 1976
International Museum of Photography, George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, 1977
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1977
Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, New Mexico, 1977
The Afterimage, Dallas, Texas, 1978
The Delaware Art Museum Downtown Gallery, Wilmington, Delaware, 1978
Robert Freidus Gallery, New York City, New York, 1978, 1979
Bucks County Arts Alliance, Lahaska, Pennsylvania, 1979
Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, 1980
John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, 1980
Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1981
Mancini Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1981
Stanford University Museum of Art, Palo Alto, California, 1981
Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio, 1981
Photoworks, Richmond, Virginia, 1981
Le Trepiad Galerie Photo, Geneva, Switzerland, 1981
The Toledo Trust Company, Toledo, Ohio
Norton Gallery of Fine Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1982
The Tennessee Fine Arts Center, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982
Equivalents Gallery, Seattle, Washington, 1982
Actione Recherche Photographique d'Acquataign, Bordeaux, France, 1982
Viterbo College, La Crosse, Wisconsin, 1982
Northlight, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 1983
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina, 1983
JaAnne Lyon Gallery, Aspen, Colorado, 1983
Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, California, 1983
Galerie Zur Stockeregg, Zurich, Switzerland, 1983
Silver Image Gallery, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1984
Foto Biennale Enschede, Enschede, The Netherlands, 1984
The Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1986
Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, 1986
Loyola College, Baltimore, Maryland, 1987
Nassau Club, Princeton, New Jersey, 1987
Photographs 1966-1986, Bucks County Community College, Pennsylvania, 1988
The Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1989
The Center for Metropolitan Studies, University of Missouri at St. Louis, Missouri, 1990
Portraits, Gaumann-Cicchino Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1990
Photo-Eye Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Michael A. Smith, A Visual Journey:Photographs from Twenty-Five Years, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, and Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1992
Bill Bace Gallery, New York City, New York, 1993
Michael A. Smith, A Visual Journey: Photographs from Twenty-Five Years, Lyme Academy of Art, Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1993
Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1995
Dialogues with the Land, with Paula Chamlee, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, 1997
Landscapes Rural and Urban: Photographs by Paula Chamlee and Michael A. Smith, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1997
Dialogues with the Land, with Paula Chamlee, Lotus Gallery of Fine Art, Ostermiething, Austria, 1999
Photographs: His and Hers, with Paula Chamlee, Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1999
The Broad View: Photographs of Michael A. Smith, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 2000
Micheal A. Smith: Photographer and Picturemaker, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, 2002
The Gallery of Corporate and Museum Frames, with Paula Chamlee, Richmond, Virginia, 2003
Alone and Together, with Paula Chamlee, Travis Gallery, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2003
Paul Paletti Gallery, Louisville, Kentucky, 2003
Tuscany, with Paula Chamlee, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, Atlanta, Georgia, 2003
De Santos Gallery, with Paula Chamlee, Houston, Texas, 2004
Aughinbaugh Gallery, with Paula Chamlee, Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, 2004
Gallery 339, with Paula Chamlee, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2005
New Orleans: A Beloved City, Erie Art Museum, Erie Pennsylvania, 2006
Point Light Gallery, with Paula Chamlee, Sydney, Australia, 2007
Camera Obscura Gallery, with Paula Chamlee, Denver, Colorado, 2007
798 Photo Gallery, with Paula Chamlee, Beijing, China, 2007

Major Group Exhibitions
Tinicum Art Festival, Erwinna, Pennsylvania, 1968
Kenmore Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1969
The Subject As Seen, The Free Library of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1970
The New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 1974
New Jersey Photography, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1974
Midtown Y Gallery, New York, New York, 1976
Invitational Exhibition, Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, 1976
6 x 6 = 36, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1976
Photographic Landscapes, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, Rochester, New York, 1977
The Great West: Real/Ideal, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, 1977
New Acquisitions From the Polaroid Collection, Clarence Kennedy Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978
Diverse Images, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans Louisiana, 1978
Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1979
Pennsylvania Photographers, Allentown Museum of Art, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1979
Intentions and Techniques, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, 1979
New Acquisitions From the Polaroid Collection, Clarence Kennedy Gallery, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1979
The Great American West Photography Exhibition, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1980
New Landscape, Friends of Photography, Carmel, California, 1980
The Published Image, Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, 1981
A Century of American Landscape Photography, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, 1981
American Photographers and the National Parks, National Parks Foundation, Washington, D.C., 1981
Pennsylvania Photographers II, Allentown Museum of Art, Allentown, Pennsylvania, 1981
Contemporary Western Landscapes, The Light Factory, Charlotte, North Carolina, 1981
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1990
Dialogues with the Land: Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, 1997 and Lotus Gallery of Fine Art, Ostermieting, Austria, 1999
Landscapes Rural and Urban: Photographs by Paula Chamlee and Michael A. Smith, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1997
Objects of Desire, Michener Art Museum in New Hope, New Hope, Pennsylvania, September 16, 2005-January 15, 2006
Parting Gifts: Artists Honor Bruce Katsiff, Director/CEO, 1989-2012, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2012

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Instructor in Photography, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1970-1972
Instructor in Photography, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 1971-1973
Artist-In-Residence, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 1982
Artist-In-Residence, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Museum, Yosemite Valley, California, 1988
Founder, Institute for Photographic Studies, 1994
Instructor in Photography, Deep Springs College, Deep Springs, California, 1995

Major Awards
Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts, 1977
Le Grand Prix du Livre Photographique, Arles, France, 1981
Heberton Field Williams Award, Print Club, 1983
Board of Governors Prize, Print Club, 1986
Print Club Selection Prize, 1986
1st Prize, Open Juried Photography Show, Bucks County Council on the Arts, 1987
Fellowship, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1995