Ben E. Smith Jr.

Ben Smith, native of Orange, Texas, and long-time Austin resident, died at home on July 24th, his wife and son at his side. Best known as a graphic artist, consummate watercolorist, and one of the nicest guys anybody ever met, Ben was also a lifelong music buff and collector in many genres.

Ben came to Austin in 1947 to study art at the University of Texas. He worked for 38 years as a graphic designer and illustrator with the UT Division of Extension. After his retirement in 1991, he turned to painting and produced a generous trove of outstanding watercolors and drawings.

Born February 10, 1926, son of Ben and Lucille Smith, Ben was the youngest of four siblings; his three sisters, Alva Hough, Nell Jones, and Laura Bowler, preceded him in death. Ben's artistic talent manifested early on, nurtured with art lessons after school. He graduated from Orange High School in 1944, enlisted in the Air Force, and was sent to Japan with the U.S. occupation. Ben had tucked a few paints and pencils into his bag, and he sent home many drawings and watercolors documenting what he saw.

Ben went to college on the G.I. Bill, first at Lamar Junior College in Beaumont, then at the University of Texas at Austin. He took classes in the School of Fine Arts from noted artists of the time, including Seymour Fogel, and graduated in 1949. While at UT, he met fellow art student Harriet Peterson of Temple, Texas, and they married at All Saints' Chapel on May 29, 1949.

After a brief employment with the Lower Colorado River Authority, Ben and Harriet moved to Waco for two years while Ben did drafting and graphic design for the Air Force. They returned to Austin in 1953 and never left. His work for UT continued from 1953 until his retirement in 1991. Ben and Harriet's son, Mark, was born in 1956. Their marriage of 34 years ended with her death in 1983.

Ben was an enthusiastic music lover and collector. His tastes covered classical, jazz, country, western swing, and music of Texas- and Austin-based artists. He enjoyed live music at the Armadillo World Headquarters, Antone's, Cactus Café, and Liberty Lunch. Ben built an exhaustive collection of recordings by jazz great Duke Ellington, which he donated in 2021 to the San Francisco-based Internet Archive, where they can be heard online as the Ben E. Smith Jr. Collection.

In August 1992 Ben married Jane Chamberlain in a ceremony on the promontory behind the LBJ Library. Ben and Jane lived nearly 31 years in central Austin. Jane encouraged Ben's artistic output after retirement and became the subject of numerous paintings and drawings.

Ben was always a keen observer of human nature, and his observations produced many stories, which he loved to tell. Every Tuesday night for several years, he enjoyed pints and laughs with friends at the Dog and Duck Pub. As his health issues multiplied, faithful friends continued to visit him at home, right up into his last week.

Ben is survived by his wife Jane; his son Mark Smith and daughter-in-law Catharine Wall of Austin; and grandson Peter Smith, Peter's wife Megan Grace Smith, and three great-grandchildren, Ezra (age 5), Sinéad (3), and Siobhán (2), of Asheville, North Carolina.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held August 18th, 2:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden Funeral Home at 6100 North Lamar Blvd., in Austin. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Central Texas Food Bank or the Internet Archive.