Lucy Marie Abel Smith FSA (née Knox) is a British author, historian, arts administrator, and tourism businesswoman. She is the founder of the Fresh Air Sculpture exhibition, the Reality & Beyond tourism agency, and the Transylvania Book Festival.
Lucy Abel Smith | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of London |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse |
David Francis Abel Smith
(m. 1982) |
| Relatives | Alexander Abel Smith (father-in-law) |
Biography
editLucy Marie Knox was raised in Ayrshire, where her father Bryce Knox was Lord Lieutenant before becoming Lord Lieutenant of Ayrshire and Arran.[1][2] On 18 November 1982, she married David Francis Abel Smith, an engineer and son of British Army officer and banker Alexander Abel Smith.[1][2] She studied medieval art at the University of London.[3]
After working as a tour guide in Cold War-era Eastern Europe, Abel Smith and Jiří Kotalík wrote A Walking Guide to Prague, which she called "the first post-communist guidebook to the city".[3][4] Her parents "want[ing her] to have a sensible job", she had a career as a guest lecturer, working at Art Fund, The British Museum Friends, Sotheby's, and the Victoria and Albert Museum.[2][3] She also works as an art commissioner.[2]
Abel Smith and her husband David live in Grade II-listed Quenington Old Rectory, where in 1992 they opened Fresh Air Sculpture, a biennial open-air sculpture exhibition at the rectory's garden.[5] In June 2013, her open-air library, as part of the 2013 edition, was featured on The Daily Telegraph; inspired by medieval dovecotes, the library features art by Romanian local artist Ion Constantinescu, and ceramicist Carol McNicoll, textile artist Donna Wilson.[6]
Abel Smith has a career in the tourism industry, and she is the founder of Reality & Beyond, a tourism agency that specialises in the arts and literature.[3] In 2013, she founded the Transylvania Book Festival in Richiș, a village in Sibiu County, Romania.[7][8] In 2016, she published Travels in Transylvania, a travel book focused on the valley around the Târnava river.[9]
She was appointed Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 5 May 2012.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b Debrett's People of Today. 2006. p. 2.
- ^ a b c d Fokschaner, Serena (11 May 2019). "The house that dares to be different". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "About us". Reality & Beyond Ltd. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Kotalík, Jiří; Abel Smith, Lucy (1991). A Walking Guide to Prague. New York City: Harper Perennial.
- ^ "Quenington Old Rectory". The Oxford Magazine. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "My space: Lucy Abel Smith, historian". The Daily Telegraph. 25 June 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Lucy Abel-Smith". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ Gaisman, Jonathan (13 March 2023). "Romanian romance: Returning life to empty churches and villages". Catholic Herald. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Travels in Transylvania by Lucy Abel-Smith". Penguin Random House Canada. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
- ^ "Mrs Lucy Abel Smith". Society of Antiquaries of London. Retrieved 2 December 2023.