James Haverty Smith

Acrylic on Canvas

24" x 36"

James ("Jimmy") Haverty Smith's life as a visual artist spans more than four decades as an architect, designer and sculptor and painter. His favored mediums include oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pen & ink. Much of his work is informed by the ever-changing architecture of memory and how our mind's eye, as a construct of dreams, aspirations and nostalgia, colors and shapes our vision of the world.

Jimmy received his bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. After college he studied and painted at the Hambidge Center and participated in the 'Genesis Project' on Ossabaw Island. He then received a master's degree in architecture from Harvard's Graduate School of Design finishing with highest honors and earning the top design award. As an architect Jimmy served as Design Principal in the Atlanta office of Perkins and Will and won numerous design awards there. He most recently served as Design Director in the Dubai, UAE and Amman, Jordan offices of Dar Al Hadassah, Perkins and Will's affiliate company in the Middle East.

In 2019 Jimmy and his wife, Mary Anne Walser, moved back to Atlanta and he retired in 2020 to focus more fully on his passion for painting. Since his return he has contributed works to the GLA gala. In both 2021 and 2023 he received the Peoples's Choice award for his paintings at the biannual PDC Beaux Arts Festival.

Jimmy has three children who have all also pursued careers in the arts, following in their father 's footsteps. In addition, he and his wife, Mary Anne, have six grandchildren who all love to draw and paint with them both.