Frank Sidney Smith

Frank was born in 1928 in the Thanet Union workhouse, he never knew his father but believed him to be an artist and he was brought up in a children's home whilst his mother worked in the workhouse. He was a wartime evacuee, and spent eight years in Palestine and Korea in the army.
His wife who he had met as a pen pal was a schizophrenic and later died of lithium poisoning. Unfortunately, his son was also schizophrenic and committed suicide by throwing himself off a tower block.
Frank has the ability in his charming way to capture all emotions, but the humour jumps out from the paintings in his wonderful childlike style, the stories he remembers flow like an endless talking encyclopaedia and one cannot help but be captivated.
Springing from his sadness, Frank’s is an uplifting success story, with self-knowledge and emotional stability in forging his creative talent.