Kārlis Smiltens
An Artist’s View of Latvia and War
Latvian artist Kārlis Ernst Smiltens (October 24, 1921–February 10, 2017) was my uncle by marriage, a close and valued friend, and the inspiration for The Linden Tree & the Legionnaire, my historical novel and mystery series. I’ve gathered his paintings here—works that together tell the story of a life well lived, a little-known chapter of World War II history, and the long aftermath of war and displacement. A keen observer of the world around him, Kārlis brought wit, humanity, and an abiding opposition to war to his art. Many of these works are also available as fine-art greeting cards.
Diana Mathur
The collection is loosely organized around the periods and subjects that shaped Kārlis’s life and art—from Latvia and war to displacement, family, bicycling, and the natural world.
Photo: Kārlis in 1937.
Night Crawlers
Nakts rāpotāji
The Old Quarter
Vecais kvartāls
The Experiment — Eksperiments
The Gardeners — Dārznieki
The Nonchalants Nonšalanti
By the Hearth —
Pie pavarda
Word on the Street — Ielas runas
Figures in Birch Forest
Figūras bērzu mežā
On the Forest Road — Uz meža ceļa, 1946
Soldiers with a Scythe — Karavīri ar izkapti
On the Run — Bēguļojot
Masked Gathering — Masku Saiets
Strange Times — Savādi laiki
1977
Bad News — Sliktas ziņas
Corporal Kārlis Smiltens
Latvian Legion
Important Men — Svarīgi vīri
Forward Artillery Observers
Artilērijas priekšējie novērotāji
The Brass
Augstākā virsniecība
Gathering Force — Spēku pulcēšanās
The Front — Fronte
Three Legionnaires Confer — Trīs leģionāri apspriežas
Mop Up — Tīrīšana
Heavy Going / Grūts ceļš
War Monsters - Kara briesmoņi
Incoming! — Apšaude!
Falling Back — Atkāpšanās
The Hand of Death— Nāves roka
Watching It Burn — Skatoties, kā deg
The Pause — Pauze
God Help Him — Dievs, palīdzi viņam
Pushing Through — Laužoties uz priekšu
Left Behind — Atstāts
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No Man’s Land — Neviena zeme
At Their Post — Savā postenī I of IV
At Their Post — Savā postenī I of IV
At Their Post — Savā postenī II of IV
At Their Post — Savā postenī III of IV
At Their Post — Savā postenī IV of IV
Cannons and Skulls — Lielgabali un galvaskausi
End of War. Going Home. — Kara beigas. Ceļā uz mājām.
The Legionnaire — Leģionārs
Aftermath — Sekas
Parade of the Dead — Mirušo parāde
Parade of the Dead — Mirušo parāde
Mission Accomplished — Misija izpildīta
Ghosts of the Battlefield — Spoki kaujas laukā
Winter Forest — Ziemas mežs
The Cry — Kliedziens
Defeated
Sakauts
Displaced Person — Pārvietotā persona
Forest Brethren — Meža brāļi
Watching the Horizon
Vērojot horizontu, 1947
Street Urchins — Ielu bērni, 1946
Good Sirs
Labie kungi
No Way Home — Nav ceļa mājup
Tosspot
Žūpa
After the war, Kārlis spent several years in England as a displaced person. He eventually made his way to London, where he worked as an artist, before reuniting with his family in America. His artistic skills helped qualify him for immigration to the United States, where he built a long career in animation, working for Disney, Hanna-Barbera, and other studios. Over the years, he worked on such characters and series as The Pink Panther, Fat Albert, and Beany and Cecil.
A de facto war artist of the Latvian Legion, Kārlis later donated more than 400 drawings and paintings to the Latvian War Museum in Riga—a remarkable visual record of the war as he experienced it.
After nearly fifty years of Russian occupation, Latvia regained its independence in 1991, and Kārlis returned many times in the years that followed.
Here he is strolling in Jūrmala.
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Onward — Uz priekšu
The Melee — Kautiņš
Onward — Uz priekšu
The Revelers — Līksmotāji
The Melee — Kautiņš
Sunflowers — Saulespuķes
Winter Refuge — Ziemas patvērums
The Merry Widow — Jautrā atraitne
The Runners — Skrējēji
The Gift for Diana — Dāvana Diānai
