Hobbe Smith

Hobbe Smith (Witmarsum, 1862 – Amsterdam, 1942) was a Dutch painter, best known for his watercolours, which show the influence of Impressionism. The son of a house painter, he was apprenticed to a lithographer at a young age and took drawing lessons in his spare time, including at the Quellinius school.

Thanks to a wealthy patron who admired his work and a royal grant, he studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam under August Allebé, and later at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp under Verlat. His output covers a broad range of subjects: figures, often nudes, seascapes, city views, still lifes, portraits, interiors and historical scenes. He admired the work of Jacob Maris, though his own paintings are lighter and more cheerful. He won the Willink van Collen prize in 1888, but his reputation grew mainly after an exhibition at the Pulchri Studio in The Hague in 1902. In 1917 Queen Wilhelmina awarded him a gold medal.

He was a member of Arti et Amicitiae and of the Amsterdam Saint Luke Artists' Association. His works are held by the Rijksmuseum Twenthe in Enschede, the Drents Museum in Assen and the Fries Maritime Museum in Sneek, and they continue to appear regularly at auction.