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The elegance and wry observations of Jeffrey Smart

In his old age, this artist once out of tune with his peers, became one of Australia’s most favoured sons.

4 Jan 2022 17:02

The Conversation

Visual Arts

Jeffrey Smart, Margaret Olley in the Louvre Museum. 1994–95 Tuscany, Italy. Oil on canvas 67 x 110 cm Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney. Bequest of Ian Whalland 1997. 85.1997

Joanna Mendelssohn, The University of Melbourne

Review: Jeffrey Smart, National Gallery of Australia

Although I never met him, Jeffrey Smart (1921-2013) was my first art teacher. As ‘Phideas’ on the ABC Radio’s Argonauts program he told stories of art and artists, explaining ways of seeing to children across Australia.

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