Letta Crapo Smith

Henrietta (Letta) Crapo Smith (1862 – 1921) was a painter, known as a color specialist and granddaughter of the former Michigan Governor, Henry H. Crapo. Early years Letta Smith was born on 4 July 1862 into the prominent Crapo family of Flint, Michigan. Her father, Humphrey Henry Howland Crapo Smith, was a Michigan lumber baron and her mother, Lucy Ann Crapo, was the daughter of the former Michigan Governor, Henry H. Crapo. Through her mother's side, she was descended from Mayflower passenger William White and Revolutionary War Patriot, Peter Crapo of Massachusetts who served as a Minute Man from 1775-1776. Her first cousin was Billy Durant the founder of General Motors and Chevrolet, also of Flint, Michigan. After her father moved the family to Detroit to establish an exporting center for Michigan lumber, Letta was raised in the prominent society of Detroit. She attended Daughters of the American Revolution functions with her mother. The society papers reported moments of her life which included entertaining at her mother's home, pouring tea for other Detroit society ladies, working on fundraising activities for Detroit charities and taking trips abroad with her mother. Artistry In 1890, Smith sailed for Paris to study painting at the Académie Julian in Paris as she was prevented from attending École des Beaux-Arts because she was female. At the Academie, her work was critiqued by prominent French artists William Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. While in Paris, she was the first woman from Detroit to have her work accepted by a Paris salon.