Art
Galleries
Walter Grove II
Memorial | Tony
Hungerford
Fea tures works by exceptional CSM
students working in visual mediums. Please contact the
Box Office for more information.
The Walter Grove II Memorial
Art Gallery is open during CSM operating hours.
Ordinary Days, Extraordinary Moments:
Charles County through the Lens of Gary Smith
June 15 - August 28, 2009

Hungerford Gallery Features Images by Former
Photographer;
Friends, Family Establish Gary D. Smith Memorial
Scholarship
Colleagues, co-workers and friends of the late Gary
Smith, longtime photographer for the Maryland
Independent, have joined efforts with the newspaper and
the College of Southern Maryland to establish a tribute
that not only recognizes the talented photojournalist
but also creates a legacy in his honor.
Smith captured life through the camera lens for the
Maryland Independent for 23 years and for the Newark
Advocate in Ohio for 14 years; he sharpened his talents
at Ohio University where he earned a master’s degree,
and he developed the skill in others at CSM where he was
a photography instructor for a number of years.
Thousands of his images have been culled to produce a
gallery exhibit that commemorates his talents in
capturing the daily life of Charles County, and these
images will be donated to the Southern Maryland Studies
Center at CSM for the community’s future access.
Additionally, a scholarship fund has been established to
provide a legacy for students in the field of
communications at CSM, including photography, the visual
arts and music.
“After Gary’s death, so many people talked about putting
together some kind of tribute to him. He’d been around
the county for a long time and so many people knew him
and so many people had been the subjects of his work. It
is a very fitting way to honor him,” said Maryland
Independent Editor Angela Breck, who was Smith’s
co-worker since his arrival to Charles County.
Smith was the paper’s photographer from 1985 until his
death Jan. 8, 2009. “Through the years, Gary entered the
homes and lives of numerous community members. He was
one of the most respected and recognizable members of
the media in Southern Maryland and he became the face of
the newspaper to many in the community,” Breck added.
“Gary was always on the sidelines of what was happening
in the county. He never wanted to be part of the action,
but he was happy to record it for history,” said Carrie
Lovejoy, who worked with Smith as a reporter and editor
since 2001. “Gary was one of the hardest-working
photographers I’ve ever seen, shooting several
assignments a day and working on his days off without
complaint.”
“I would hope people come away from this show with an
appreciation of just how much enthusiasm Gary brought to
his job, and how much attention he paid to the details
of his craft,” said James Hettinger, who worked with
Smith as a reporter in the late 1980s and later as a
managing editor at the paper. “Many of his assignments
were ordinary events—county fairs, graduations,
community picnics—but Gary worked hard at trying to take
extraordinary pictures. I think he was driven by both
professional pride and a genuine fondness for people; he
liked people and wanted to present them well in the
paper.”
It was a formidable task that confronted Smith’s friends
as they gathered in April to begin shaping the gallery
collection. Those working on the effort in addition to
Breck, Hettinger and Lovejoy were Jim Brocker, Michelle
Brosco Christian, Karen Smith Hupp, Conni Leigh James,
Candice Quinn Kelly, Valerie Nyce and Katie O’Malley-
Simpson.
“We came together around a conference table stacked with
boxes bursting with negatives, contact sheets and
prints, representing literally thousands of images.
Where to start was our first question, and so we just
dug in, stirring up a bit of dust but mostly fond
memories as we began the seemingly overwhelming task to
come up with the photos that best represented what Gary
saw through his lens,” said Hupp, who worked with Smith
as the newspaper’s community editor during his early
years. “Identifying the name for his gallery was easy
for us. We quickly realized the common thread we were
seeing in how he took an otherwise ordinary occurrence
and created an extraordinary moment for all to enjoy.”
The results of their efforts are about 300 images that
have been either framed or combined into a collage of
photos that capture the scope and spirit of his
work—“Ordinary days, extraordinary moments: Charles
County through the Lens of Gary Smith.”
Some choices were easy: the aftermath of Hurricane
Isabel and the F4 tornado that devastated La Plata, the
ceremony honoring Charles County citizens killed in the
Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon, and the opening
of the area’s first minor league baseball stadium. These
were key events in Charles County’s history. There were
also iconic images—tobacco farmers and watermen—that
defined the area’s cultural heritage. And then there
were photos that just made everyone smile.
“My favorite images were of children—young through
teens. He captured their joy and innocence and as we
looked through the pictures, I was reminded that they
grow up much too quickly,” said Kelly, who interacted
with Smith as a community volunteer through the years
and as a county commissioner. “When I saw the children
with the Easter bonnets, there was a chuckle, and also …
such joy from those simple things. He left us the gift
of his photographs like a loving parent.”
“Gary had a knack for capturing the innocence of
childhood,” said James, who knew Smith as a fellow
photographer. “Working on the show has been very
rewarding. This is an exceptionally talented and
generous group of people. The fact that so many good
people thought so highly of Gary is a wonderful legacy,
every bit as impressive as the body of work he left
behind. I hope that those who see the show will enjoy
revisiting the many great moments in our county’s recent
history that Gary recorded, and that they will have a
chance to remember Gary through his work.”
Smith’s friends who collaborated in creating the show
have also worked with Smith’s wife Linda and children
Gabe Smith, Danielle Arbe and Darcy Thomas to ensure a
lasting tribute is established in his honor.
The Gary D. Smith Memorial Scholarship has been
established through the CSM Foundation for CSM students
interested in the field of communications including
photography, the visual arts and music. Applicants will
be asked to write a 100-word essay describing their
interest in communications as part of the criteria, and
preference will be given to students who demonstrate
financial need.
“Gary had such a passion for documenting what went on in
the community. He loved his work, all hours of the day
and night,” said Linda Smith of her husband’s years in
Charles County. “He was one of those types of
individuals that strived to perfect his work because he
didn’t always have the confidence that what he had
captured did justice to the moment. Yet, we look back at
the sheer volume and quality of work that he produced,
and we are awed by his results.
“What has struck me through this experience is that Gary
exemplifies the type of individuals in our lives who
walk among us, perhaps on the sidelines as he did in
covering the community, but persistently doing their
work and we don’t always notice their full value until
after they are gone. Then, we are able to fully
appreciate the gift they have left us,” she said. “It’s
been extremely heartwarming to see the community’s
response throughout the past several months, and our
family is honored by the efforts of Gary’s friends who
want to make sure that Gary and his life are always
remembered.”
Contributions to the Gary D. Smith Memorial Scholarship
Fund may be sent to the CSM Foundation, P.O. Box 910, La
Plata, Md., 20646. For information, call 301-934-7636 or
visit www.csmd.edu/foundation. Those making a donation
of $100 or more during the exhibit’s showing, June 15
through Aug. 28, will receive a print of the
commemorative show poster.
|
2009
- 2010 Schedule |
|
The Art of Arthur Hall Smith from the
Collection of Barbara and Jeffrey Stephanic |
September 11 - October 11 |
Gallery Talk- September 15, noon |
|
Unbroken Thread: Nature Paintings and the
American Imagination- The Art of Philip Koch |
October 16 - November 15 |
Gallery talk- October 27, noon |
|
The Hollow Men: Paintings by Carl
Lennartson |
November 20 - January 18 |
Gallery Talk- December 1, noon |
|
AACC |
January 22 - February 21 |
Gallery Talk- February 2, noon |
|
Paintings by Linda Wharton |
February 26 - March 28 |
Gallery Talk- March 9, noon |
|
Annual Student Juried Show |
April 2 - May 2 |
Gallery Talk/Awards Presentation- April 13, noon |
*All Gallery Talks are held on Tuesday afternoons and
are free and open to the public.
The Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery is open
M-F 9:00 - 5:00 p.m. and during events at the Fine Arts
Center. Please call 301-934-7828 to arrange for other
hours if necessary.
Artists can be considered for an exhibit in the Tony
Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery by sending slides, CD, or
glossy 8"x10" photos of the work to be considered.
Please include an artist's statement and a resume
(including education, training, and exhibition
history). Five exhibits are selected each year
from many submissions and the Gallery schedule is
determined two years in advance. Please send the
material and to:
Dr. Barbara Stephanic, Curator College of Southern
Maryland Department of Fine Arts 8730 Mitchell
Road, P.O. Box 910 La Plata, MD 20646

*Dr.
Barbara Stephanic, Curator of the Tony Hungerford
Memorial Art Gallery is pleased to announce the newest
addition to CSM's permanent art collection.
Artist Jan Clayton Pagratis, recently exhibited her work
of Encaustic Paintings in the Gallery this past fall.
Ms. Pagratis has made a gift to CSM of one of the
paintings from her show.
"The
Yellow School Bus" 14"x11" Encaustic, Pencil
Shavings, Rusty Metal and Wood, on Canvas.
Ms. Pagratis expressed her warm gratitude for the opportunity to show her work
at CSM and a special appreciation for the interest expressed by the students.
The painting she donated relates to students, and education in particular, and
she felt CSM to be an appropriate home for the painting.
CSM, the division of Fine Arts and Humanities and the
Tony Hungerford Memorial Art Gallery would like to say thank you to
Ms. Pagratis for her gift and show our appreciation for
her work. |