B. 1921 – 2013

Jeffrey Smart represents a vital figure in Australian modernism. Born in Adelaide, he studied at the South Australian School of Arts and Crafts under Marie Tuck and Rupert Bunny. As a student, he visited the studio of Dorrit Black and was greatly inspired by her views on symmetry, line and colour. After working as an art critic, teacher at the National Art School and host on the popular children’s radio program The Argonauts Club, Smart departed Australia for Rome in 1963. 

As an artist, Smart dedicated himself to the representation of the modern city. His urban and industrial landscapes are exacting – each rendered with classical precision in reference to Renaissance art. No vista was too lowly for Smart, who found drama, intrigue and beauty in highways, trucks, vacant lots and posters peeling off brick walls. 

Smart is represented across Australia’s public collections and internationally at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He is an icon of Australian art, reflecting on his work that: 

“My only concern is putting the right shapes in the right colours in the right places. It is always the geometry.” 

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