Smith, Bernard William

Description

Unique IDPE-004720Pre-nominal honorificsDrSurnameSmithGiven namesBernard WilliamBirth date3rd October 1916Birth date qualifierexactPlace of birthSydney, AustraliaDeath date2nd September 2011Death date qualifierexactPlace of deathMelbourne, AustraliaBiographical noteBernard William Smith was an Australian art historian, art critic and academic, considered the founding father of Australian art history, and one of the country's most important thinkers.
GenderMaleOccupational historyIn 1967 Bernard Smith was appointed Foundation Professor of Contemporary Art and was Director of the Power Institute of Fine Arts, University of Sydney. Prior to this, he held senior appointments at the University of Melbourne. He was a painter (using the pseudonym Joseph Tierney), writer, teacher, critic, philanthropist and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.

Glebe connections

Bernard Smith (and his wife Kate) lived in Glebe for a decade, following his Sydney University appointment. Bernard Smith arrived in Glebe at a pivotal moment: it was a period when many decaying inner-city areas were threatened with wholesale demolition. Smith’s academic eminence, his aesthetic sensibility, sense of fairness and justice, his concern for history and the environment, his ability to cogently articulate the issues and his energy enabled him to galvanise like-minded Glebe residents to form the Glebe Society in 1969 with the object of ensuring that adequate planning went into new projects and that existing heritage buildings were preserved and conserved. Bernard Smith served as Inaugural President from 1969-71 and again as President from 1974-75.

At that time, immediate threats to Glebe included a proposal to cut freeways through the suburb, a plan to build high-rise apartments in Ferry Road and the Church of England’s Glebe Administration Board proposal to demolish the Glebe Estate and replace it with high-rise office blocks and townhouses.

Bernard and Kate Smith’s 1973 book The Architectural Character of Glebe was a timely and seminal work which saw beneath the surface decay and neglect to classify and trace the evolution of the Australian terrace.

Smith’s legacy in Glebe is a suburb that was recognised on the Register of the National Estate as “a history of early Australian urban architecture. As a townscape it is handsome, coherent, and largely complete.”

https://glebesociety.org.au/person/bernard-smith/

Photograph

Sunken boat, containers, and wharf around Blackwattle Bay, Ferry Road Glebe, 1970

View of two storey terraces and corner shop along St Johns Road Glebe, 1970

Two corner shops between terraces houses, St Johns Road Glebe, 1970

Two-storey terraces and barber shop, St Johns Road Glebe, 1970

Two-storey house with white picket fence, Foss Street Forest Lodge, 1970

Two-storey end terrace with iron fence, Hereford Street Forest Lodge, 1970

Corner store with advertisements, corner of Wood and Cross Street Forest Lodge, 1970

Houses and corner store in Phillip Street Glebe, 1970

View of houses and shop down Phillip Street Glebe, 1970

View of terraces and corner shop along St Johns Road Glebe, 1970

Corner block of two-storey terraces, St Johns Road Glebe, 1970

Gothic sandstone tower of St John's church, Glebe Point Road Glebe, 1970

Brick and tile Federation style terraces, Avona Avenue Glebe, 1970s

Federation style single-storey terraces, Avona Avenue Glebe, 1970s

Street view towards Forsythe Street, Avona Avenue Glebe, 1970s

Single storey house with decorative fence design, Avona Avenue Glebe, 1970s

Single storey houses with picket fences, Avona Avenue Glebe, 1970s

Stone elevated, semi detached cottages, Sheehy Street Glebe, 1970s

Double fronted house with decorative iron work, Wigram Road Glebe, 1970s

Books & Journals

The legacies of Bernard Smith: essays on Australian art, history and cultural politics

The architectural character of Glebe, Sydney/ Bernard and Kate Smith

Series

Bernard and Kate Smith Glebe Photographs

Relationships

CollectionBernard and Kate Smith Glebe CollectionOrganisationThe Glebe Society (1969-1990) The Glebe Society Incorporated (1990 - )Related agenciesThe Glebe Society Incorporated Management Committee and Sub Committees.Related functionsPreserving the character of Glebe (Glebe Society)ActivityPreserving the built heritage of Glebe.Improving the amenity of Glebe. [Glebe Society]Preserving the natural heritage of Glebe. [Glebe Society]

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Smith, Bernard William