B. 1890 – 1979

Grace Crowley was a pioneering figure in Australian modernism, instrumental in introducing cubist and abstract principles to Sydney in the inter-war period. Born in Cobbadah, New South Wales, she defied family expectations to pursue art, studying at Julian Ashton’s Sydney Art School from 1915 and later teaching there.

In the late 1920s, Crowley travelled to France to study with leading Cubists André Lhôte and Albert Gleizes, whose focus on geometric structure, dynamic symmetry, and the golden section profoundly influenced her painting. Returning to Sydney in 1930, she introduced these European modernist principles into the Australian art scene; a catalyst for the radical leap into pure abstraction, and pivotal in shaping the modern art movement in Australia.

In the 1930’s she co-founded the Crowley-Fizelle School in Sydney and the Progressive Art Movement, where she encouraged students to experiment with abstraction, bold colour, and formal design principles. The movement attracted artists such as Ralph Balson and Frank and Margel Hinder, and together formed the core of Australia’s second wave of modernism. By this time, CRawley’s work had evolved from representational painting to pure abstraction, making her one of the earliest and most influential abstract artists in the country.

Crowley became known for her disciplined, almost architectural approach to composition, paired with a sensitivity to colour and rhythm. Despite her significance, she remained under-recognised for decades, partly because she withdrew from public exhibitions in the 1940s - Exhibition I (1939), being hers, and the nation's first major presentation of semi-abstract art. Today, she’s celebrated as a pioneer who helped shift Australian art toward a more international, modernist outlook.

Crowley’s influence has continued to grow posthumously. The Art Gallery of New South Wales presented a retrospective exhibition in 1975, driving renewed interest in the feminist art movement and confirming her place in Australian art history.

Grace Crowley’s public legacy is rich with her works held in many major state galleries and federal collections.

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