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Art

The Ephemeral Fragments of Harry Smith's Faith

Smith's collections of folk music, Indigenous art, and occult ephemera inspired generations of artists.

Albert Mobilio

Albert Mobilio

— 6 min read
The Ephemeral Fragments of Harry Smith's Faith
Harry Smith, still from "Film No. 11: Mirror Animations" (c. 1957), 16mm film, color, sound, 3:35 min; sound from The Thelonious Monk Quartet, B-side of Misterioso (Blue Note Records, 1949), 78 rpm (courtesy Blue Note under license from Universal Music Enterprises; image courtesy Anthology Film Archives, New York, © Anthology Film Archives. All other images courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art unless otherwise noted)