Welcome to the Jeffrey Smart exhibition. I wish to begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples on whose beautiful lands this exhibition is taking place. My name is Deborah Hart and I'm co-curator of the exhibition, with Rebecca Edwards.
The exhibition celebrates the centenary of Smart’s birth, and our aim has been to bring together a wide range of his works for you to contemplate and enjoy. The exhibition will take you on a journey from Smart’s very early self-portrait through to his last painting, Labyrinth, undertaken when the artist was 90 years of age.
The exhibition demonstrates Smart’s interest in the theatrical and his keen sense of geometrical construction. Among the themes are the city environment, surveillance, and art about art. Passionate about art history, Smart was also enamoured by the urban world around him as he said; ‘I love living in the 20th century. I want to paint the modern world around me as beautifully as I can.’
