During this period Smith sent money home to help his parents with the mortgage on their land, but even the aggregate of the family's funds proved insufficient to avoid foreclosure.
In the decade that followed, Smith moved through preliminary explorations of neo-plasticism and began to paint in a more hard-edge style, typified by geometric lines, curving shapes of color, and the use of tondo (disk-shaped) canvases.
A review for a 1956 solo show at the Camino Gallery noted Smith as a Geometric painter, who had "extended De Stijl principles to include tonal variations and nonrectilinear elements.
"[7] As late as 1962, he continued to receive notifications for derivative influence: the "flawlessly executed" bas-reliefs of his exhibition for Eleanor Ward at the Stable Gallery were typified as "Arpish.
[10] He was affiliated with numerous other prominent dealers, including Sidney Janis, Charles Egan, Betty Parsons, Galerie Chalette, and Denise René.
He had arrived at geometry before others and remained steadfastly loyal to its principles, cultivating aspects of scale and simplicity that presaged the Hard-Edge and Minimal painting styles of the late 1950s and '60s.
[13] When asked for his inspirations at a post-commencement speech roundtable, Smith cited the two professors of English who opened his mind to the beauty of Middle-English and Poetry, rather than name-dropping his contemporaries or artistic mentors.