Born in Auburn, Michigan on January 11, 1871, Charles L. A. Smith was a self taught painter who spent his early career in Chicago. He visited California sometime before 1908 but did not settle in Los Angeles until the 1920's. In 1933 Smith was granted Jonathan Club Artist Membership in exchange for one of his paintings. In 1937 he was designated as the Club's "librarian and art connoisseur," replacing Stanislaus Porary as custodian of the art collection. Smith died on November 26, 1937. Primarily a landscape painter, Smith also painted portraits.

Member: California Watercolor Society; Boston Art Club; California Art Club.

Exhibited: Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915; California Liberty Fair, 1918; Ebell Club, Los Angeles, 1921; California State Fair, 1930.

Works Held: Laguna Art Museum; University of Maine Museum of Art, Bangor, Maine; Lawrence Art Museum, Massachusetts; Gardena High School.

Sources: Artists in California, 1786-1940, Edan Hughes

Art at the Jonathan Club, Jonathan Art Foundation