Cossington Smith, Grace (1892-1984), was an Australian painter. Cossington Smith was known for using bold colors and vibrant lighting in her works. She was one of the first Post-Impressionist artists in Australia. Post-Impressionism was a movement that emerged in France in the late 1800’s. Post-Impressionist works are characterized by simple, bright colors and abstract (nonrealistic) forms.
Grace Smith was born on April 22, 1892, in a suburb of Sydney, Australia. Her parents were English-born immigrants. Smith first studied art while attending the Abbotsleigh School for Girls in Wahroonga, New South Wales. Beginning in 1910, she took drawing lessons from the Italian-born artist Antonio Dattilo Rubbo in Sydney.
In 1912, Smith traveled to Europe, where she attended art classes in England and Germany. During this period, she became inspired by such painters as the French artist Antoine Watteau. Smith returned to Australia in 1914. She joined her family at their new home, called Cossington, in the Sydney suburb of Turramurra. The house was named after her mother’s former home in England. Smith also resumed her lessons with Rubbo. She adopted the name Grace Cossington Smith to establish herself as a professional artist.
While painting with Rubbo, Cossington Smith was influenced by the artistic styles of such Post-Impressionist artists as Paul Cézanne and Vincent Van Gogh. In 1915, she painted The Sock Knitter, one of the earliest Post-Impressionistic works created in Australia. The painting shows Cossington Smith’s sister knitting socks for Australian soldiers serving overseas in World War I (1914-1918). It was displayed by the Royal Art Society of New South Wales, making it the first of Cossington Smith’s works to be included in an exhibit.
Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, Cossington Smith painted many representations of city life in Sydney. Her best-known works from this period include The Bridge In-Curve (1930), which shows the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and The Lacquer Room (1936). In addition to landscapes, she painted still life works. Another well-known series of paintings, completed in the 1950’s, showed the interiors of the Cossington house. These works include Interior With Verandah Doors (1954) and The Window (1956). Though Cossington Smith was not recognized for her contributions to modern art in Australia during most of her career, her works were later collected by art galleries around the country.
Cossington Smith was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1973. In 1983, she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. She died on Dec. 20, 1984.
