Howard Smith

Howard Smith (1928–2021) was an African American artist and designer who spent most of his life in Finland, where he is better known than in his native United States. This publication is dedicated to Howard Smith’s diverse and decades-spanning artistic production.

Smith worked across a wide range of techniques and materials. To Finnish audiences, he is perhaps best known for the ceramic pieces and printed textiles he designed for Arabia and Vallila. As an artist, he practiced graphic art, sculpture, paper art, and collage. Over the course of his career, he also created several public artworks throughout Finland. He drew influences from many sources and visual languages – from the social movements of his time and modern art trends to folk art.

Howard Smith is a bilingual publication featuring essays by both American and Finnish scholars, presented in both English and Finnish. The book also includes conversations with Smith’s close friend Ken Erwin and his spouse Erna Aaltonen, offering a more personal perspective on the artist’s life.

Language: Finnish and English 
Format: Hardcover 
Page Count: 260 
Editorial: Steven Wolf, Nick Larsen 
Finnish editors: Tuomas Laulainen, Emma Lilja, Laura Eweis 
Writers: Allison Blakely, Erna Aaltonen, Ervin Latimer, Ken Erwin, Steven Wolf, and Tuomas Laulainen 
Translations: Tomi Snellman 
Book Design: David Chickey, Inga Hendrickson 
Photographs: Johnny Korkman, RJ Sanchez / Solstream Studios, Tom Johnson, unless otherwise noted 
Publisher: Radius Books, co-published with the Palm Springs Art Museum, 2025 
Printing: EBS SRL, Verona, Italy 
ISBN: 9798890180995