Gary Ernest Smith (American, 1942) Berry Patch Oil on panel 30 × 24 in. Frame: 39 × 33 in. Signed lower right: “Gary Ernest Smith”
In Berry Patch, a solitary laborer pauses amid rows of ripening fields, rendered in warm reds, golds, and earthen greens. Smith’s textured surface and simplified forms emphasize the dignity and quiet endurance of agricultural work, transforming a moment of rural labor into a meditation on persistence, humility, and connection to the land.
Gary Ernest Smith is one of the leading interpreters of rural American life in contemporary realism. Raised in the agricultural communities of Idaho and Utah, Smith has devoted his career to depicting farmers, laborers, and landscapes shaped by work and faith. His paintings are widely held in museum and private collections and are recognized for their emotional restraint, symbolic clarity, and deep respect for the rhythms of working life.
