Eric Anthony Smit (1939-2016), deer drinking in nature with waterfall in the background En Ged

Eric Anthony Smit (1939-2016), deer drinking in nature with waterfall in the background En Ged, watercolors on paper, signed and dated 1989, framed: 52x72 cm. * Eric Anthony Smit was an Israeli stage designer, puppeteer, painter, sculptor and graphic designer. Smith was born in Pretoria, South Africa. As a boy in South Africa, he founded the "White Angel" theater with John Wright. He studied at the Pretoria Academy of Arts. Smith met Israeli actor Yossi Garber when the latter performed in South Africa. The two arrived in Israel in 1964 and Smith found work as the designer of the Israel Defense Forces exhibition, thanks to Yosef Hermelin, head of the Shin Bet security service at the time, and the husband of Gerber's sister. In 1970 he designed the set for Giora Godik's theater play "Butterflies are Free" and developed a successful career as a stage designer. In 1973, together with his partner, Yossi Gerber, he established a puppet theater called Eric's Wooden Dolls, in which Smith created the puppets, directed and wrote the plays. In 1983, the Orna Porat Theatre stopped supporting him and Erik's puppet theater closed. In 1987, the theater began to operate again in the framework of the Dohl Auditorium in Tel Aviv's Hatikva neighborhood, combining artistic activity and educational activity for the neighborhood's children. Peter and the Wolf, Carnival of the Animals and The Nightingale were staged at the theatre.

In addition, Smith worked as a stage designer for the Haifa Municipal Theater, the Cameri Theater, the Bat-Sheva Dance Company and the Bat-Dor Dance Company.

In 1994 he was awarded the Rosenblum Prize for Performing Arts by the Tel Aviv Municipality for his unique and long-standing contribution to puppetry. Smith died of cancer in 2016 at the age of 76. His brother and sister donated the puppets, parts of the scenery and the archival materials that Smith left for the Holon Puppet Theater.