Howard Smith was a ceramist, sculptor, painter, and textile designer who lived and worked in Finland for over 50 years. Smith was born in Moorestown, NJ. In 1949 he joined the U.S. Army and was honorably discharged at the rank of sergeant in 1958. In 1960 he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1962 Smith co-organized a young American artists tour of Finland and decided to remain there.

His first private exhibition was held in Helsinki in 1963. Smith worked for a short time as an assistant to Kaj Franck at the Institute of Applied Fine Arts. He exhibited widely in Finland in the 1960s and 1970s. He received commissions for a number of major murals. Smith also designed textiles for Vallila Interiors.

In 1976 Smith moved back to the United States, where he stayed until 1984. On returning to Finland, he became a visiting artist at the Arabia ceramics factory and designed the Parvi (Flock) and Runfree series for them between 1986 and 1995.

Smith and ceramist Erna Aaltonen formed Arteos Studio in 1988. They moved to Fiskars near Helsinki in 1996. Smith’s work is found in the collections of the New York Museum of Modern Art , the Museum of African-American Art in Los Angeles, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and the Design Museum in Helsinki.