"Mr. Lee-Smith's paintings usually have spare settings suggestive of theater stages or bleak urban or seaside landscapes. Walls stretch out under gray skies. Men and women, as lithe as dancers, seem frozen in place. Most are dressed in street clothes; some wear exotic masks. Children frequently appear, as do props reminiscent of circuses. The work has an air of mystery associated with the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico and Edward Hopper."
Untitled (Two Figures and Beach), 1955
While I totally agree with the quote above (from Wikipedia) I like that Lee-Smith lets the brushstrokes show a little more, is expressive and less 'clean' than hopper and de chirico (both very polished while like Lee-Smith, contain elements of loneliness and mystery). I also like that this composition has approx. equal amounts sky and land, the big house at left balanced with the distant houses at right, the male figure and the caped figure, and the tall pole/tree at right contrasted with the small horseshoe shape at lower left.
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