Michael Smither
Smither works in a variety of media - notably oils, acrylics, and screenprint - and on a variety of subjects. Domestic life is a major theme of many of his works, these scenes depicted with a rigorous yet idiosyncratic realism. A similar style is brought to his landscapes, many of which depict the Taranaki landscape around which he grew up. Smither has attained the status of iconic painter in New Zealand.
His first solo exhibition was in 1961.
Smither was the recipient of the 1970 Frances Hodgkins Fellowship from the University of Otago. He is the patron of community art gallery "Real Tart" in New Plymouth