OBJECT SIZE 19 HIGH. ISAAC SMITH WAS A WELL-KNOWN DALLAS FOLK ARTIST WHO PRODUCED HAND CARVED WOODEN ANIMALS AND INSECTS AT HIS HOME STUDIO IN OAK CLIFF. THE FIGURE HAS SOME AGE RELATED DAMAGE. Smith was by far the No. 1 folk artist in the country, according to Ronald Gard, an art collector who served on the International Advisory Council of the Museum of American Folk. The Oak Cliff native carved thousands of wooden animals in his lifetime, according to Gard, who wrote a book about Smith. Former President George W. Bush bought a raccoon and reindeer from the artist. Other pieces found a home at the Dallas Museum of Art, and today many live in the Craighead Green Gallery in Stemmons Corridor. Dallas morning news 12-30-2016. Isaac Smith, whose animal carvings transcended U. Folk art, dies at 72. Smith’s work found it’s way to the Dallas Museum of Art and former President George W. A public funeral service will be held at 11 a. Tuesday at Sacred Funeral Home on Lancaster Road in east Oak Cliff.