The Meticulous Improvisational Art of Carl Richard “Dingbat” Smith: by Claudia Volpe

In spite of a global pandemic, we have been fortunate to be able to continue to grow our collection this past year. We feel particularly lucky two have acquired two pieces from the magnificent artist, Carl Richard “Dingbat” Smith, whose work was introduced to us by our friend, consultant, and fellow collector, Lewis Tanner Moore.

“Bat,” as his friends (one of whom is PFF artist, Thaddeus Mosley) called him, lived and worked in Pittsburgh, PA. Little is known about him today, though his intricate relief work using only nails of different sizes and colors to create fluid, improvised (!) compositions deserves much wider recognition.

Bat passed away in the late 1980s, but to his friends, “Bat was never born and never died. Bat is.”

Lewis kindly shared a brief write-up by Audra Mellix about Bat, which you can read here.