By Gussie Fauntleroy
Linda Kyser Smith finds endless fascination in portraying the inner thoughts and outer charms of women
A haughty, beautiful woman, chin tilted ever so slightly upward, long black silk opera gloves worn with utter self-confidence—she inspires a range of responses, from envy to indifference. But to painter Linda Kyser Smith, she is a perfect model.
Kyser Smith connected with art early on. She remembers copying Gilbert Stuart’s famous unfinished portrait of George Washington while in grade school and admits it “kind of even looked like him.” Her love of painting women in fine clothes has roots in time spent with her grandmother, a seamstress and clothing designer with whom young Linda stayed every day after school while her parents worked…
Some of the actual dresses and accessories her models wear today were inherited from her grandmother, including a lovely 1920s-era ivory satin gown created for Kyser Smith’s aunt, although for unknown reasons the aunt never wore it. The gown has appeared in a series of works, including TEA AND SATIN, which received an honorable mention from the National Portrait Society…
Featured in March 2008
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