Dressler Smith

I feel I am honoring my mother, my grandmother, cousins, aunts, and all these African-American women who came before me through my art.  They didn’t have canvas and paints, but they had gardens and quilts.  I learned the colors and patterns of their quilts and their gardens, that were the expression of their art.  The stained-glass windows I designed for St. John Baptist Church in East Camden were patterned like quilts.” When I saw the windows reflecting on the piano where my mother used to play, I felt that moment as a lived experience of grace.
The community of women in my life, including aunts, cousins, and grandmothers also taught me that there is always a struggle involved in living.  My cousins had their quilts stolen from them at gunpoint, begging only for the return of the ones they needed to keep them warm. When I paint gardens, it reminds me of my mother and these women, a place of beauty for them in their difficult lives. 

Dressler Smith Resume 
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Dressler Smith's most recent solo exhibition was held February 9 - March 6, 2022.  A selection of her work is currently available at the gallery as indicated.  For inquiries on all other works show, please Contact Us 


The Journey - Delaware Bay, oil and pastel on board, 5" x 7"  Available 


Sacred Lotus (Study), pastel on paper, 14.5" x 11" 

December 1, oil and pastel on board, 5" x 7" 


Pears for Preserving Memories, pastel and oil, 10" x 13"  


A Stitch in Time Series: African Violet - Purple, oil and quilt, 10.75" x 11.5" 


Autumn Dogwood, oil on paper, 9.5" x 12.5" 


Poinsettia with African Doll, pastel, 15" x 17" 


In Search of My Mother's Garden - Red Tulip, pastel, 19.25" x 25" 


Orange and Moroccan Bowl, oil and pastel, 13.5" x 16.5" 


In the Midst V, pastel and oil, 16" x 23"  


In the Midst - Twilight, pastel and oil, 17" x 22.5"  


In His Presence, pastel and oil, 23" x 34.5"  


Ice Dance, pastel, 12" x 17.5"  


In Search of My Mother's Garden - Garden Tulips, oil and pastel, 7" x 4.25" 


Oasis in White, stained glass light box, 26" x 20.25" x 4"  


A Stitch in Time Series: Purple Cone Flower, oil and quilt, 9.25" x 12"  SOLD 


A Stitch in Time Series: African Violet, oil and quilt, 10.75" x 11.5" 


The Journey, oil on canvas, 18" x 24" 


Sacred Lotus - Golden Pink, oil on paper, 12" x 16"  


Sacred Lotus - Pink, oil on paper, 12" x 16"  


Sacred Lotus, pastel and oil on paper, 26" x 20"   


Day Spring Series - Maine, pastel on paper, 7.75" x 4.75"  


In Search of My Mother's Garden - Red Mums, oil on panel, 18" x 18"