Smith, R. Carleton (1908-1984) | University of Illinois Archives

Robert Carleton Smith (1908-1984) was born on February 19, 1908 in Bement, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, graduating in 1927. During his time as a student, he was a member of the University Choral Society, writer for the Daily Illini, and Assistant Star Course Manager. Following his graduation, he traveled extensively throughout Eastern Europe. He also earned a graduate degree at the University of Maryland. From 1934 until 1942 he was the music editor of Esquire Magazine.

Following World War II, he founded the National Arts Foundation (of New York) in 1947, where he met such world figures such as President Harry Truman, the composer Jean Sibelius, and pianist Ignaz Paderewski. During this time, he expended considerable time and energy seeking lost manuscripts of Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, and other major composers, all of which had disappeared from German libraries during the war years. Later in life, he served as the chairman of the International Awards Foundation, was the originator of the Pritzker Prize in architecture, and established the Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize. Smith died on May 28, 1984 in Long Island, New York.

N. Lewis, Paperchase , 1981 (780.94 L587P)

"Mary Garden in Capital; Former Opera Star Received by Truman -- Guest Luncheon," New York Times (November 24, 1949), 48.

"Carlton Smith Dies: Helped to Establish Architectural Prize," New York Times (June 1, 1984), 21.

University of Illinois, Illio (Urbana, IL: 1928), 132.