We specialize in original, vintage, and reproduction vintage artwork including: photographs, postcards, book plates, photogravures, maps, collage, and other works on paper evoking simpler times.
Why we do what we do: Because we believe, with a passion, that there is lasting beauty in what came before us. We believe that artisans from prior centuries, who crafted their work without the aid of today’s technology, deserve an audience.
Karl Blossfeldt spent much of his career photographing plants in his studio with the goal of educating and inspiring students about the brilliance of nature. Lucky for us, these beautiful works of art were born.
Photographed between about 1880 and 1920, these photogravures were printed in 1942. Please read more about Blossfeldt and his process on the Blossfeldt page.
Kim’s collages are crafted with antique papers and archival materials. They are meant to be intimate and thought provoking, evoking a peaceful, quiet and simultaneously compelling response from viewers. One can often find a humorous or unexpected element within the frame.
As a result of living in and traveling extensively throughout Europe during her childhood, Smith is greatly influenced by the Dada, Bauhaus, and Wiener Werkstätte movements, as well as Russian Constructivism.
Follow Smith & Co. and Kim on Instagram. KimSmithVintageSmith
Born in America, Kim Smith spent 10 formative childhood years living in Germany. Her work is meant to be intimate and thought provoking, though one sometimes finds a humorous element within the frame. She is strongly influenced by the European museums and flea markets that her parents exposed her to. As a result of living in and traveling extensively throughout Europe, she is greatly influenced by German and Austrian art of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: the Dada, Bauhaus, and Wiener Werkstätte movements, as well as Russian Constructivism. Her Mecca is the Neue Galerie in New York City because of its focus on the art of this period. Smith feels that working with vintage and antique materials brings the authenticity of old Europe to her work and allows her to share the beauty of her early experiences with the viewer.
Smith painstakingly cuts and arranges the elements in her collages before gluing them down. Her studio is a sea of little pieces of paper spread out on tables. Sometimes a collage will be reworked for weeks before any glue is applied. Her meticulously composed and edited work is as much about what is not there, as what is. Although it may look spontaneous, everything present in her compositions is deliberate.
She uses antique and vintage materials for her images, but the glues and backing that support the image are archival, so as not to add to the natural aging process.
Smith has earned degrees in Design, Economics and an MBA. After an extensive business career in the garment industry and then investment banking, her desire to balance the duality of her left and right brain inspired her to start her own art process. A business owner since 1998, she splits her time between her art studio at Hunters Point Shipyard and her home office where she is a dealer and manufacturer of vintage and vintage-inspired wall décor. In fact, it was remnants from the business that became her original collage materials.
She loves to spend days exploring galleries and museums and those experiences can have an overwhelming impact that makes her want to produce her own work.
American, b. 1961