Jeffrey Smart

Jeffrey Smart was an Australian painter who was known for his precisionist depictions of urban landscapes that are "full of private jokes and playful allusions". He was born and educated in Adelaide where he worked as an Art teacher. After departing for Europe in 1948 he studied in Paris at La Grande Chaumière, and later at the Académie Montmartre under Fernand Léger. He returned to Australia 1951, living in Sydney, and began exhibiting frequently in 1957. In 1963, he moved to Italy. After a successful exhibition in London, he bought a rural property called "Posticcia Nuova" near Arezzo in Tuscany. He resided there with his partner until his death. His autobiography, Not Quite Straight, was published in 1996. A major retrospective of his works travelled around Australian art galleries 1999–2000. He won several awards for his paintings, including the Commonwealth Jubilee Art Prize (1951), the Honorary Doctorate (1999), and the Officer of the Order of Australia (2001). He was described as a master of the mixed message and a romantic landscape artist who told stories of love, loss, and romance through his paintings. He died at the age of 91 in June 2013 from kidney failure. His death was mourned by his friends, fans, and fellow artists who remembered him as a passionate, talented, and generous person.