B. 1932 – 2001

Dawn Sime was a pioneer of abstract art in Australia. Active in the expressionist movement of the late 1950s and 1960s, she was born in Melbourne and largely self-taught, only receiving six months of formal art training at Melbourne Technical College. Despite opposing the figuration of artists like Charles Blackman and Joy Hester, Sime helped found Heide alongside John and Sunday Reed. 

Known as both Dawn Frances Sloggett and Dawn Westbrook, Sime was included in Tate Museum’s major presentation of Australian art in 1962, London. She was inspired by modernists like Barbara Hepworth, as well as Asian art, producing work that was striking, emotive and atmospheric. 

After marrying the then Director of the National Gallery of Victoria, Sime’s practice as an artist slipped from legitimacy, overshadowed by her marriage. Despite this, she remains a key figure in the story of Australian abstraction, represented across public collections including at the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of Western Australia. 

  
To read a more in-depth biography of the artist, click here.