Grace Cossington Smith (April 22, 1892 - December 10, 1984) was an Australian artist. Examples of her work are held by every major gallery in Australia. One of Australia's most important artists of the twentieth century, Cossington Smith was best known for her modernist depiction of a Sydney cafetaria, paintings of the arch of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as it was being built, and her late indoor scenes of doorways and windows where yellow is usually the dominant colour. Many of her scenes give a glimpse of the ordinary suburban home of her time: still lifes, doorways and window sills. She also sometimes painted important events such as the World Wars and the arrival of the Prince of Wales in Sydney, which show a broader view of what was happening in Australia and the world at the time.
She used great sunlight and wonderful patterns of vibrant colour with cool colours added to shadows, giving them a sense of energy. Using carefully placed brushstrokes of brilliant colour side by side to build up small squares, she built form in colour. She was one of the earliest Australian artists to be influenced by the European Post-Impressionist movement and lead a break away from Australian Impressionism. A contemporary of Margaret Preston, her works were very daring for the time. Her main interest was colour, bright shimmering colour filled with reflected sunlight. She supported modernism and developed her own individual technique.
