Jeffrey Smart’s Material and Conceptual Practice
Jeffrey Smart was born in Adelaide, 1921, and began his formal artistic education in the South Australian School of Arts & Crafts. However, he left in 1941 during World War 2. He was inarguably affected by the war, but he stayed in Australia during the conflict, displaying his artworks in Sydney and Melbourne. Three years after the war ended, in 1948, he travelled around Europe, eventually staying in Italy, where he died in 2013. He continued to send artworks out to exhibitions in Australia even through his primary residence were in Italy with his partner.
The primary subject matter for his paintings was urban life, he once remarked, “ I have painted my last billabong scene.” He instead preferred factories, trucks and vacant parking spaces.
Smart mostly painted with acrylic, oil and watercolours. He used contrasting primary colours like, yellow, red and blue to enhance the objects in his paintings. His skies were usually a dark grey as a further contrast against the colourfulness of his paintings.
His planning process involved hundreds of preliminary drawings to correctly compose his painting. His inspiration from individual artworks usually came from a simple glance at an everyday urban scene, like a passing car or highway
Jeffrey Smart was born in Adelaide, 1921, and began his formal artistic education in the South Australian School of Arts & Crafts. However, he left in 1941 during World War 2. He was inarguably affected by the war, but he stayed in Australia during the conflict, displaying his artworks in Sydney and Melbourne. Three years after the war ended, in 1948, he travelled around Europe, eventually staying in Italy, where he died in 2013. He continued to send artworks out to exhibitions in Australia even through his primary residence were in Italy with his partner.
The primary subject matter for his paintings was urban life, he once remarked, “ I have painted my last billabong scene.” He instead preferred factories, trucks and vacant parking spaces.
Smart mostly painted with acrylic, oil and watercolours. He used contrasting primary colours like, yellow, red and blue to enhance the objects in his paintings. His skies were usually a dark grey as a further contrast against the colourfulness of his paintings.
His planning process involved hundreds of preliminary drawings to correctly compose his painting. His inspiration from individual artworks usually came from a simple glance at an everyday urban scene, like a passing car or highway