Guy Grey-Smith (1916-1981)

Biography

1916 Born in Wagin, Western Australia
1936 Joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a cadet at Point Cook, Victoria
1937 Seconded to the Royal Air Force for five years
1939 Married Helen Stanes. On the outbreak of WW2, he was sent to France as a Flight Lieutenant stationed in Epernay, east of Paris
1940 Shot down and severely wounded, captured and put in a prisoner of war camp. He began to sketch and paint using pencils and watercolours sent by his wife through the Red Cross.
1943 Contracted tuberculosis
1944 Sent to Barcelona then England. Spent six months at a sanatorium in Sussex where art therapy was part of the treatment.
1945 Enrolled at the Chelsea School of Art, studied under Ceri Richards, Robert Medley and Henry Moore. Studied pottery part-time at the Woolwich Polytechnic under Heber Matthews.
1946 Visited Paris. The forest of Fontainebleau reminded him of Australian forests
1947 Discharged from the RAF, moved to WA with his wife
1950 Built house in Darlington
1951 Set up home pottery, making slip-decorated earthenware
1952 Recurrence of tuberculosis, spent eight months in hospital
1953 Travelled to England and Europe, studied fresco painting at the Central School under Louis le Brocquy and Han Tigdal. Saw an important exhibition of Fauve painters in Paris.
1954 Returned to WA. Worked with the Adult Education Department and the Art Gallery, lecturing and taking prints to country areas
1956 Studio completed in Darlington
1957 Formed the Perth Group with Robert Juniper, Brian McKay, Tom Gibbons and Maurice Stubbs
1960 Travelled to the eastern states for the first time. Became interested in the work of Nicholas de Stael
1963 Painting trip to Ceylon
1966 Elected inaugural president of the Contemporary Art Society (WA branch)
1967 Painting trip to Bali
1969-75 Teaching at the West Australian Institute of Technology
1971-72 Lecturer in painting, drawing and ceramics, University of Fine Art, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
1972 Experimented with acrylics, mainly landscapes on paper
1974 Bought a small house in Pemberton to be near the karri forest. Began a series of woodcuts and some etchings
1975 Regained pilot's licence and bought a Cessna
1977 Appointed West Australian representative on the Visual Arts Board
1981 Died from a recurrence of tuberculosis

Selected Exhibitions

1949 First solo exhibition, Newspaper House Gallery, Perth
1950s Exhibited solo or with Helen Grey-Smith, except 1952 and 1954
1960s & 70s Held solo exhibitions almost annually. Took part in group and competition exhibitions
1957-58 Contemporary Australian Painters, touring Canada
1958-59 Australian Contemporary Paintings, touring all Australian state galleries
1961 Recent Australian Painting, Whitechapel Gallery, London
1963-64 Australian Painting, Tate Gallery, London, touring to Ottawa
1964 Australian Painting, touring New Zealand
1976 Guy Grey-Smith Retrospective, curated by Lou Klepac, Art Gallery of Western Australia and Queensland Art Gallery
1978 Landscape and Image, Indonesia

Awards

1955 Perth Prize (best WA entry)
1959 Murdoch Prize
1962 Robin Hood Art Prize
1963 Perth Prize (best WA entry)
1964 Perth Prize
1966 St George's Cathedral Prize
1967 St George's Cathedral Prize
1967 Walter Murdoch Prize
1968 Walter Murdoch Prize
1973 Special Distinguished Artist and Scholar Grant, VAB, Australia Council for the Arts
1975 Gold Coast Art Prize
1978 George's Prize, Melbourne
1981 Order of Australia

Collections

National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane
Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart
Newcastle City Art Gallery
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston
Bendigo Art Gallery
Monash University, Melbourne
University of Western Australia
University of Queensland
James Cook University, Queensland
Curtin University of Technology
Edith Cowan University
Western Australian Institute of Technology
St George's College, University of Western Australia
Reserve Bank of Australia
BankWest
Rural and Industries Bank of Western Australia
Claremont Teachers College, Perth
Price Waterhouse
The Holmes a Court Collection
Kerry Stokes Collection
The Mertz Collection, USA
Leicester County Education Authority, England
Numerous private collections in Australia and overseas

Sources:

'Guy Grey-Smith's Landscapes of Western Australia', exhibition catalogue, Edith Cowan University, Perth, 1996
Lou Klepac, 'Guy Grey Smith: Retrospective', The West Australian Art Gallery, Perth, 1976