Michael H. Smith, Dealer and Curator Who Prized Experimentation, Dies at 80

"Michael Smith's contributions to the history of Southern California art are critically important. He is a key piece in the larger puzzle that is composed of people who cared about ideas and artistic explorations in this community. He is the kind a curator for whom I have admiration and respect, one who took chances instinctively, without reservation, believing in his own opinions and observations, and motivated to share them."

"After a year-long stint as director of development and membership at the Newport Harbor Art Museum (today the UC Irvine Langson Orange County Museum of Art), Smith would become the director of the Baxter Art Gallery at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech). During his tenure from 1977 to 1982, he staged exhibitions for artists like Hans Haacke, Laddie John Dill, Richard Tuttle, Terry Allen, Berenice Abbott, and Siah Armajani, among others. (CalTech closed the Baxter Art Gallery in 1985, and its records were donated to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art the following year.)"

Michael H. Smith was born August 21, 1945, in Pasadena and died October 31 in Santa Barbara at age 80; no cause was given. He opened the Michael H. Smith gallery at 936 North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles in 1971 and closed it a few years later, then worked as a private dealer and partner at the Jack Glenn Gallery in Corona del Mar and San Diego. He served a year as director of development and membership at the Newport Harbor Art Museum and directed the Baxter Art Gallery at CalTech from 1977 to 1982, mounting exhibitions by prominent contemporary artists. His programming sometimes met resistance at CalTech, but his shows provided important West Coast exposure. CalTech closed the Baxter Art Gallery in 1985 and donated its records to the Smithsonian Archives of American Art in 1986.

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