The New York City medical examiner's office has determined that artist Lucien Smith died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl and oxycodone, bringing a formal answer to a death that had remained unexplained for two months. The ruling was announced on Thursday and reported by the New York Times. Smith, who was 37, was found dead in his Manhattan home on September 7.

Smith first drew wide attention as a young painter whose work commanded intense market interest in the early 2010s, when his canvases became fixtures of high-profile auctions and fair booths. In more recent years he had turned much of his energy toward supporting younger artists, a shift noted by those who followed his career after the early market frenzy faded.

His latest body of work, a series of Rain Paintings produced by spraying paint with an air compressor, is currently on view at Tripoli Gallery in Wainscott, New York, under the title Delay of Game. The exhibition opened after his death and has become a focal point for remembrance of his practice.

Dealer Bill Powers, who exhibited Smith early in his career, paid tribute to the artist when news of his death first emerged in September, describing a presence that would continue to be felt by those who knew him. The medical examiner's finding now closes the question of how he died, while the circumstances around his final months remain a subject of quiet reflection in the art world. The two-month interval between his death and the ruling had left friends, collectors and colleagues waiting for clarity, and the confirmation of an accidental overdose brings a measure of closure to a loss felt across the New York scene.