Skip to content

Collection

An image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart
Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart
Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart
Alternate image of Truck and trailer approaching a city by Jeffrey Smart

Jeffrey Smart

(Italy, Australia 1921– )

Title
Truck and trailer approaching a city
Year
1973
Media category
Painting
Materials used
synthetic polymer paint on canvas
Dimensions

75.0 x 150.4cm stretcher; 90.0 x 164.5 x 8.8cm frame

Signature & date
Signed l.l. corner, blue and black synthetic polymer paint "JEFFREY SMART". Not dated.
Credit
Purchased under the terms of the Florence Turner Blake Bequest 1980
Accession number
1.1980
Copyright
© Jeffrey Smart
Location
20th & 21st c Australian art
Further information

'Truck and trailer approaching a city' presents a frozen moment, in which Jeffrey Smart’s use of space, scale, colour and form evokes a sense of alienation.

'The painting is in two squares. I wanted to see if I could bring off a satisfactory composition which had a line down the centre, dividing it into two equal parts ... This is the first painting in which the apartment houses have that really impersonal quality I see in them ... I have been able to give them the grid look, amazingly similar to the pattern of memory cells in a computer. The sky is painted mainly with raw umber and mauve – with so much red, a neutral area was absolutely necessary.'

Jeffrey Smart, 1999

Bibliography (21)

Christopher Allen, The Weekend Australian 17 Oct 2009-18 Oct 2009, 'Hard work: A new show reminds us of the limitations of colour-field abstraction', pg. 12-13, Canberra, 17 Oct 2009-18 Oct 2009, 13. Focus room ‘Tackling the field’ exhibition review.

Kym Bonython, Ross K Luck, Laurie Thomas and Elwyn Lynn, Modern Australian painting, 1950/1975, Adelaide, 1980, 189 (colour illus.).

Edmund Capon, Barry Pearce and Ursula Prunster, Jeffrey Smart - A review exhibition 1982, Domain, 1982, cover (colour illus.), 1, 7. cat.no. 36

Edmund Capon and Jan Meek (Editors), Portrait of a Gallery, 'Australian 20th Century Art', pg. 71-89, Sydney, 1984, 89 (colour illus.).

Edmund Capon, Barry Pearce and Peter Quartermaine, Jeffrey Smart retrospective 1999, 'Posticcia Nuova 1971-99', pg. 129-185, Sydney, 1999, 136 (colour illus.), 137 (colour illus.), 208. cat.no. 45. The image appearing on pg. 136 is in detail.

Edmund Capon, Parallel visions: works from the Australian collection 2002, 'John Brack / Jeffrey Smart', pg. 116-127, Domain, 2002, 121 (colour illus.), 146, 147.

Joan Chambers and Sophia Watson, Art in the sun 2000, 'Jeffrey Smart b.1921', pg. 48, Brookvale, 2000, 48 (colour illus.).

Deborah Edwards, Two centuries of Australian painting: a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales 1986, 'Introduction', pg. 8-14, New South Wales, 1986, 48 (illus.). cat.no. 57

Chris Gibson and John Connell, Sydney: the emergence of a world city, 'Artistic dreamings: tinseltown, sin city and suburban wasteland', pg. 292-318, South Melbourne, 2000, 315 (illus.). fig.no. 14.7

Brian Ladd and Alan Krell, The Artist & the City 1983, Domain, 1983, cover (colour illus.), 3, 14. cat.no. 30

Elwyn Lynn, Modern Australian Painting, 1970/1975, 'Introduction', pg. 7-11, Unknown, 1976, 75 (colour illus.). plate no. 106

Barry Pearce, Australian painters of the twentieth century, 'Jeffrey Smart', pg. 172-183, Roseville, 2000, 179 (colour illus.).

Barry Pearce, Master of stillness: Jeffrey Smart paintings 1940–2011 2012, 'Search for the timeless', pg. 7-21, Kent Town, 2012, 16 (colour illus.).

Barry Pearce, Jeffrey Smart, 'Art, love and gestation in Sydney', pg. 92-137, Roseville, 2005, 120-121 (colour illus., detail), 122, 123 (colour illus.), 170, 178, 254.

Barry Pearce, Look Feb 2002, 'Parallel Visions: a study of fellow spirits in Australian art', pg. 8-9, South Yarra, Feb 2002, 9 (colour illus.).

Barry Pearce, Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, 'The enduring image', pg. 265-266, Domain, 2000, front cover (colour illus., detail), 272 (colour illus.), 302.

Barry Pearce, Art Gallery of New South Wales Handbook, 'Australian', pg. 13-35, Domain, 1988, 33.

Barry Pearce, Three years on: a selection of acquisitions 1978-1981 1981, 'Australian Art', pg. 5-26, Sydney, 1981, 22 (colour illus.). cat.no. 36

Peter Quartermaine, Jeffrey Smart 1983, South Yarra, 1983, 113. cat.no. 629

Jeffrey Smart, Edmund Capon and Australian Galleries Pty Ltd, Jeffrey Smart: drawings and studies 1942-2001 2001, Paddington, 2001, 93 (colour illus.). figure no. 17; cat.no. 108 is a study for this painting

Jill Sykes, Look Mar 2012, ‘Barry Pearce’s next book-call it “segueing with intent”’, pg. 28-29, Newtown, Mar 2012, 28, 29 (colour illus.).

Exhibition history (7)

Three years on: Acquisitions 1978-81, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Oct 1981–01 Dec 1981

Jeffrey Smart - A review exhibition (1982), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 17 Jun 1982–08 Aug 1982

The Artist and the City:

Two centuries of Australian painting, a selection from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Orange Regional Gallery, Australia, 19 Apr 1986–15 Jun 1986

Jeffrey Smart retrospective (1999-2000):

Parallel Visions: Twenty-two artists from the Australian collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 22 Feb 2002–May 2003

Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales: