0016 A e Smith viola

Arthur Edward Smith (1880-1978) is widely regarded as Australia's great violin maker. His violas as played by many of the top violists in the country

Smith left London for San Francicso, then Sydney shortly before WWI - he remained in Sydney the rest of his long life. Smith knew many of the worlds top violinists including Menuhin, Ricci and Isaac Stern. Ricci bought one of his violins. There is a string quartet set of Smith in the National Museum of Australia. He made 170 violins, 40 violas and 3 cellos. Smith sourced high quality maple and spruce from Europe.

The violas follow a Brescian model in a range of sizes. This viola was made in 1939 at the start of Smiths 'Golden Period' up until his stroke in 1961. This is one of the big viola models - 17.3". Its tonal quality and response are world class.

The Smith is available for loan