Grace Cossington Smith was born on the 20th of April 1892 in Neutral Bay, Sydney. She grew up as the second child of well-off English immigrants, and they were able to afford her education at Abbotsleigh.
She was surrounded by women in her family from birth, and this in part fostered a confidence to carry out what she enjoyed. Her family strongly believed in education, and appreciated the arts. Their financial security allowed Smith to pursue painting while other women in her generation were bound by societal expectations to remain at home with a family.
After she left Abbotsleigh, she was taught by Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales. Dattilo-Rubbo closely followed European art, and influenced a generation of Australian painters such as Roland Wakelin and Roy de Maistre with his love for modernism and post-impressionist art. Painters such as Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were studied by Smith, and affected the artworks she created later in her life.
During this period, Smith went to England for two years with her father and eldest sister Mabel, and was educated in both England and Germany. At Winchester School of Art and Stettin in Germany, she was exposed to the burgeoning post-impressionist style in Europe and returned to Dattilo-Rubbo with knowledge and experience. She went on to paint The Sock-Knitter in 1915, which was seen as the first post-impressionist work to be displayed in Australia. As her first work to be exhibited, she began her career as a pioneering character in Australian art.
After various popular and unique paintings, her family bought a property in Turramurra, naming it "Cossington" after her mother's ancestral home in the UK. A studio for Smith was built in the garden of their home, where many of her later paintings focussing on interiors and light originated from.
She was surrounded by women in her family from birth, and this in part fostered a confidence to carry out what she enjoyed. Her family strongly believed in education, and appreciated the arts. Their financial security allowed Smith to pursue painting while other women in her generation were bound by societal expectations to remain at home with a family.
After she left Abbotsleigh, she was taught by Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo at the Royal Art Society of New South Wales. Dattilo-Rubbo closely followed European art, and influenced a generation of Australian painters such as Roland Wakelin and Roy de Maistre with his love for modernism and post-impressionist art. Painters such as Paul Cezanne, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were studied by Smith, and affected the artworks she created later in her life.
During this period, Smith went to England for two years with her father and eldest sister Mabel, and was educated in both England and Germany. At Winchester School of Art and Stettin in Germany, she was exposed to the burgeoning post-impressionist style in Europe and returned to Dattilo-Rubbo with knowledge and experience. She went on to paint The Sock-Knitter in 1915, which was seen as the first post-impressionist work to be displayed in Australia. As her first work to be exhibited, she began her career as a pioneering character in Australian art.
After various popular and unique paintings, her family bought a property in Turramurra, naming it "Cossington" after her mother's ancestral home in the UK. A studio for Smith was built in the garden of their home, where many of her later paintings focussing on interiors and light originated from.
In the mid-20s, Smith displayed an obvious interest in bright colours and their symbolism. Her focus shifted to nature, especially the areas around where she lived, depicted in Eastern Road, Turramurra (1926). Around this time, she began to exhibit her work alongside other Australian modernists of her generation. Her first solo exhibition came in 1928 at the Grosvenor Galleries. This signalled the beginning of the most iconic point of her career.
In 1930 and 1935, she painted The Bridge in Curve and The Lacquer Room respectively, and had her work exhibited at the Macquarie Galleries, where it would be shown regularly for the rest of her life. These particular paintings displayed Smith's ability to capture the spirit and tempo of the city in bright colours and light.
During and after World War II, Smith painted many images to do with the conflict, and later travelled to Europe with her sisters. After her return, she began to paint interiors that focussed on light and form. During this late period, she received full membership to Sydney's Society of the Arts, an Order of the British Empire for her services to the arts and an Order of Australia. A retrospective Cossington Smith exhibition toured nationwide. Smith died on the 20th of December in 1984, aged 92, at her nursing home in Roseville.
Her paintings were concerned with the form and colour of her surroundings, and reflected her upbringing. Because they were based on what she saw and responded to, her artworks were deeply personal. She played an important role in bringing modernism to Australia because her work was so open and experimental, with stronger personal resolve than many of her male contemporaries.
In 1930 and 1935, she painted The Bridge in Curve and The Lacquer Room respectively, and had her work exhibited at the Macquarie Galleries, where it would be shown regularly for the rest of her life. These particular paintings displayed Smith's ability to capture the spirit and tempo of the city in bright colours and light.
During and after World War II, Smith painted many images to do with the conflict, and later travelled to Europe with her sisters. After her return, she began to paint interiors that focussed on light and form. During this late period, she received full membership to Sydney's Society of the Arts, an Order of the British Empire for her services to the arts and an Order of Australia. A retrospective Cossington Smith exhibition toured nationwide. Smith died on the 20th of December in 1984, aged 92, at her nursing home in Roseville.
Her paintings were concerned with the form and colour of her surroundings, and reflected her upbringing. Because they were based on what she saw and responded to, her artworks were deeply personal. She played an important role in bringing modernism to Australia because her work was so open and experimental, with stronger personal resolve than many of her male contemporaries.