Edgar Fahs Smith was an American chemist and academic who served as the provost of the University of Pennsylvania from 1911 to 1920.

[1] In March 1924, multiple news outlets reported that a statue in Smith's honor was planned to be erected on the university's campus as a gift from university trustee John C. Bell, who was also donating a statue of former Provost Charles Custis Harrison.

[5] In addition to the Smith monument, McKenzie would also design statues of Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield for the university.

Smith's left foot rests on the head of a snake whose tail is curled around a leg of the chair.

[7] On the back of the monument is inscribed the foundry marks and McKenzie's signature, while on the spine of the stack of books is the inscription: "A/TRIBUTE/OF/AFFECTION/FROM/JOHN C. BELL/CLASS/1884".