A landscape painter, Alexa Smith arrived in Texas at a young age from her birth place of Millersburg, Kentucky. She studied art at Baylor University in Waco and in 1903, settled in San Antonio. She took lessons from Jose Arpa, Bernhardt Wall, Dawson Dawson-Watson, Rolla Taylor, Harry Anthony De Young and Xavier Gonzalez.
She was a member of the Southern States Art League and the San Antonio Artists Guild and exhibited widely in Texas.