J. Andre Smith Signed Drawing and Letter Original Artwork Hand drawn. Jules Andre Smith was born in Hong Kong to American parents. His father was a sea captain and ship builder. After his father's death in 1887, the family moved to Hamburg, Germany, and then to New York in 1889, where they eventually settled in Stony Creek, Connecticut. He studied architecture at Cornel University, and furthered his studies in Europe after receiving a fellowship from the University in 1904. Upon his return, he took up working for at an architectural firm in New York. It was during his time in Europe that J. Andre Smith was introduced to etchings. He spent much of his free time drawing and etching, and in 1911, abandoned his career as an architect in order to dedicate himself to art. He won the gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in San Francisco for etching. In 1917 he enlisted in the Army Reserve becoming a Captain in the Engineer Corps. His drawings and etchings of WWI brought him great acclaim. In 1919 a book of his drawings was published entitled "American Expeditionary Forces." His work was sought after during the 1920's and is held in numerous museum collections.