reflections: stanley Marcus and allison v. Smith

january 25th - March 31st

[Artspace] at Untitled exhibited the work of Allison V. Smith and Stanley Marcus side-by-side for the first time to illustrate what unites the two as well as what defines each artist.

Stanley Marcus, former President of the well-known luxury brand Neiman Marcus, had a quiet hobby of taking photographs during his international travels for the company. Over the years he shared his passion with granddaughter, Dallas-based photographer Allison Smith and in the late 90’s gifted her with 5,000 slides of his personal photographs. From 1950s Parisian life to high-society parties, Marcus’ photographs are an exquisite compilation of decades past as well as an intimate look into the fashion industry of mid-century America. Allison recognized the monumentality of such a gift and with her mother Jerrie Marcus Smith, subsequently created and published the book, Reflection of a Man: The Photographs of Stanley Marcus.

As a recognized professional photographer, Allison uses a Hasselblad camera that produces a signature square format. Her eye-catching images of people and places from Marfa to Maine have a distinct solitary yet strangely beautiful quality. Although her photographs are different from her grandfather's, there is an elegant and refined quality in images by each of them that seems to emphasize the simple beauty in everyday life.