About Xanthus Russell Smith

  • Biography

    Known as a painter of Civil War marine battle scenes, Xanthus Smith sold his first paintings at age fifteen. Two years later he exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, and by the start of the Civil War, he was an established painter. His signature paintings after the War were small and had minute brushstrokes, blending clouds and sky with space well defined.

    He was born and raised in suburban Philadelphia, and learned much of his painting technique from his mother, Mary Priscilla Smith, who was an accomplished painter in a delicate manner of flowers in watercolor. His father was a theater scene painter whose style was much bolder and aggressive than his wife's.

    Xanthus served in the Uni...

    But wait, there's more...

    Displaying 1,459 of 8,369 characters.

    Subscriber Members, please Sign In for full artist biographies and all services.

    For non-paying users, good news! Full text bios for all artists are available every Friday.

    If you are not currently a member, please See Details about membership.

** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at .

Share an image of the Artist: .