Robert Borlase Smart (1881-1947)

This website is designed to provide a lasting tribute to Robert Borlase Smart, one of the finest artists ever to have been associated with the St Ives art colony and the St Ives Society of Artists (STISA). As his great friend and fellow St Ives artist, Leonard Fuller, so aptly said:

"he was St Ives personified" (Western Morning News, 4th November 1947).

It was also designed to showcase a remarkable collection of works by Borlase Smart, which included oil paintings, watercolours, pastels, drawings and etchings - most of which had never previously been exhibited. The collection formed the nucleus of a dedicated exhibition at the Crypt Gallery, Norway Square, St Ives, in September 2014.

The September 2014 exhibition was a great success and included 100 works, ranging from small and very affordable drawings to large, substantial oil paintings. A comprehensive new full-colour publication, "Borlase Smart: A Life in Art" was launched during the show, click here to order a copy (order now for only £6.50 plus postage, RRP £19.99).

2018 EXHIBITION AT PENLEE HOUSE GALLERY & MUSEUM, PENZANCE.

Borlase Smart: A Passion for the Sea
15 September - 17 November 2018

Robert Borlase Smart (1881 – 1947) was originally from Devon but made his name as an artist in St Ives. During the First World War, he served with the Artists’ Rifles Regiment and as a Captain with the Machine Gun Corps, and, on the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice, this exhibition features a selection of his war drawings. It also includes many of his magnificent marine paintings and seascapes depicting the turbulent seas of the West Cornwall coast alongside a selection of work by his students and associates, including Leonard Fuller, Peter Lanyon and Julius Olsson.

Another World (1948) | BFI National Archive

View the fascinating film "Another World" which depicts Cornish life in 1948 and features several of the established artists of the day, including Borlase Smart.