Ian Mckenzie Smith (1935 – 2025)

Biography: Dr. Ian McKenzie Smith CBE, PPRSA, PPRSW, HRA, RGI, LLD trained at Gray’s School of Art and Design in Aberdeen and at Hospitalfield in Arbroath. Influenced early in his career by the Danish, Dutch and Belgian artists of the COBRA group, his practice centred on abstract painting, often inspired by the landscape. A travelling scholarship in the late 1950s took him to Paris where he met the Japanese artist, Kenzo Okada, and encountered Zen philosophy which became an influence in his work. He was Director of the Art Gallery in Aberdeen (1968-1989) and then became Aberdeen’s City Arts and Recreation Officer (1989-1996). He was President of the Royal Society of Watercolours (1988-1998) and President of the Royal Scottish Academy (1998-2007).