Year Of Birth

1892

Year Of Death

1984

Biography

Grace Cossington Smith was one of Australia's most significant modernist painters, celebrated for her pioneering role in introducing Post-Impressionist principles and a distinctly modern sensibility to Australian art. Working primarily in Sydney throughout a career spanning more than six decades, Cossington Smith developed a luminous painting style characterised by vibrant colour, rhythmic brushwork and an acute sensitivity to the effects of light. Drawing inspiration from everyday subjects—including domestic interiors, city streets, churches and the Australian landscape—she transformed familiar scenes into expressive studies of colour and form, helping to redefine the possibilities of painting in Australia during the twentieth century. Her profound influence on the development of Australian modernism is reflected in the inclusion of her work in every major public collection in the country, including the National Gallery of Australia and the state galleries, and her paintings remain among the most highly regarded and sought-after achievements of Australian art.