1852-1924

Collections

• Related Oral Interviews, UNCA
• E.M. Ball Photo Collection, UNCA
• Correspondence, AAM
• Watercolors, Drawings and Blueprints, AAM, ABLS

Biographical Information

Born in Keighley, Yorkshire, England on July 7, 1852, Richard Sharp Smith immigrated to the United States in 1882 when he was 30 years old. Already a practicing architect, Smith was employed in New York City by Bradford L. Gilbert, architect and later joined the firm of Richard Morris Hunt. It was through Hunt's work with George Vanderbilt and the proposed construction of what later became known as Biltmore House, that Smith came to Asheville. Under Morris Hunt's supervision, Smith came to Asheville in 1890 and became Vanderbilt's "resident architect." In that position he brought along his well-developed English style of architecture. This decidedly English influence may be seen in the Young Men's Institute at the corner of Eagle and Market Street and also in the many structures he designed for Vanderbilt's Biltmore Village, at the entrance to the Biltmore Estate. The small workers cottages define his style of "pebble-dash," an architecture which uses a distinct rough pebbledash plaster combined with exterior wood detail. On Vernon Hill, the small cottages are repeated on a grand scale and in the Grove Park area, his work evolves and includes several experimental styles.

Related Oral Interviews

Inventory of Architecture

The Buildings

Selected Correspondence

Smith's Architectural Style

Typological Motifs in Richard Smith's Work

Bibliography

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