Lawrence Beall Smith (October 2, 1909 – 1995) was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor and lithographer.
[1] Smith's early childhood was spent in the Carolinas, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, moving with his family for his father's work in the United States Military.
[5] Starting in the 1930s, Smith was commissioned to create work for Associated American Artists, and became one of their most prolific and successful lithographers, creating work alongside the likes of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John Steuart Curry.
In 1943, Smith spent three months on aircraft carriers in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, creating works on naval aviation operations.
He volunteered to stay beyond his tour in order to contribute to and witness for posterity the Normandy invasion.