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ArtBreak: The Art and Life of Hughie Lee-Smith

ArtBreak: The Art and Life of Hughie Lee-Smith

Hughie Lee-Smith was a 20th century African American painter and art instructor. Growing up in the Midwest, he created a prolific collection of paintings that predominantly featured figures in urban and rural settings. Lee-Smith’s often enigmatic works explored themes of isolation, expectation, and loneliness. Regrettably, he was not as well recognized as many of his contemporaries. During this ArtBreak talk, learn more about this remarkable artist with KIA docent Dr. Sam Grossman, then visit our lower level galleries to view Lee-Smith’s The Spectators.

Dr. Sam Grossman is a long-time docent of the KIA. He also is a frequent instructor with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, teaching a variety of topics. Sam is a retired pediatrician; prior to medical school, he was an associate professor of theatre arts.

All hybrid events will be livestreamed to our YouTube page and can be found under the “Live” tab. Recordings of select past events are available on YouTube as well.

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM on Wed, 25 Mar 2026

Event Supported By

Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
269-349-7775
museum@kiarts.org
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts
314 S Park St
Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007
269-349-7775
museum@kiarts.org