Hughie Lee-SmithHughie Lee Smith came of age in the midst of the Great Depression, spending his early life primarily between Cleveland and Detroit. The Midwest left an indelible impression on the artist, whose Social Realist paintings referenced its expansive gray skies and industrial architecture. Carnival imagery recurs throughout Lee Smiths work via the motifs of ribbons, pendants and balloons, often evoking the contrast between the carnivals playful theatricality