Alumnus Reflects on FWCD Days at Cum Laude Induction

ALUMNI NEWS

Alumnus and Artist John Holt Smith ’87 was the featured speaker at the 2021 FWCD Cum Laude induction that welcomed eight seniors and nine juniors into the distinguished honor society. Following his introduction by Upper School History Teacher Bill Arnold ’86, Holt Smith shared, “Mr. Arnold had it mostly right. I’m known more these days as Mrs. [Sarah Akhtar] Smith’s [’91] husband. I’m also known, especially to some of you, as the father of Holt [’23] and Wyeth [’26]. I can assure you that both of these titles are upgrades.”

Holt Smith spoke about his FWCD days, his passion for art, and how the School created a strong foundation for him. He shared a projected image of his Limerock Sequence image, an 8-foot by 30-foot painting seen in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport after travelers clear customs. “I started becoming an artist here at Country Day. I began to take my work, my thoughts and ideas a little more seriously here,” he said. “That painting started as an idea that I had at Country Day when I was 16 years old sitting in a classroom being taught by Dr. Cordell, not your Dr. [John] Cordell, but my Dr. [Andy] Cordell. We were being taught about spectroscopy.

“The idea for that body of work came to me that day,” he continued. “It would take 15 years to develop the technology to generate the images that I used to paint those paintings. Change, real change, and innovation come when young men and women value their ideas and dreams and cultivate them, and put them out in the world. You are ready.”

Alumnus and Artist John Holt Smith ’87