Grace Cossington Smith

(Australia 1892–20 Dec 1984)

Title

The Lacquer Room

Place of origin

Turramurra → Sydney → New South Wales → Australia

Year

1935-1936

Media category

Painting

Materials used

oil on paperboard on plywood

Dimensions

74.0 x 90.8cm board; 87.0 x 104.0 x 3.9cm frame

Signature & date

Signed l.l. corner, black (ink?) "G Cossington Smith". Not dated.

Credit

Purchased 1967

Accession number

OA10.1967

Copyright

Location

Not on display

Further information

It was quite a surprise, I didn’t know it was there, but I went down to get cup of tea … and found this lovely restaurant … I was struck by its colour and general design the moment I saw it … Scarlet, green and white held me spellbound...

Grace Cossington Smith, 1979

Inspired by the art deco designs and vivid colours of the David Jones department store cafe in Sydney, 'The lacquer room' embodies the modern inter-war urban experience. The rich red and scattered patterns of the chairs are contrasted with the gleaming green of the lacquered tables, set against the brightness of the walls and polished floors. Grace Cossington Smith’s bold approach to colour exudes a sense of celebrating the new, similar to the contemporary consumer culture epitomised by the department store.

Bibliography (31)

'Lets make an artwork: Peeking into private worlds', pg. 38-39., Making art connections: Visual arts years 7 & 8 2010, 2010, 38 (colour illus.).

Nick Waterlow (Australia) (Curator), Annabel Pegus (Australia) (Curator), Symposium papers: Colour in art - revisiting 1919 & R-Balson, Paddington, 2008, 8, 11.

Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), The formalesque: a guide to modern art and its history, South Yarra, 2007, 90 (colour illus.).

'Modern message from the extreme end of niceness' by Lauren Martin., The Sydney Morning Herald 03 Mar 2005, 03 Mar 2005.

Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Editor), Grace Cossington Smith, Canberra, 2005, 36, 52-53, 105, 138 (colour illus.), 139-143, 178.

Andrew Sayers (Australia, b.1957) (Author), Sarah Engledow (Australia) (Author), Barry Humphries (Australia, b.1934) (Author), The world of Thea Proctor, Canberra, 2005, 62, 63 (colour illus.), 178.

'A beautiful scene: Sydney's artists were both wild and creative in the 1940s' by Prue Davidson, pg. 20-21., Limelight Aug 2004, Aug 2004, 20 (colour illus.).

John Slater (England) (Author), Through artists' eyes: Australian suburbs and their cities 1919-1945, Melbourne, 2004, 42, 113 (colour illus.), 114-115. illus.no. 97

Mark Ferson (Australia) (Editor), Mary Nilsson (Australia) (Editor), Aspects of Art Deco in Australia: Sunrise over the Pacific, St Leonards, 2001, 102, 103 (colour illus.). plate no. 118

Laurie Duggan (Australia) (Author), Ghost nation: imagined space and Australian visual culture 1901-1939, St. Lucia, 2001, 216, (illus.). reproduced between pages 136-137

Modern Australian women: paintings and prints 1925-1945 2000, 2000, (colour illus.). not paginated; 6-page fold-out brochure accompanying the exhibition

Jane Hylton (b.1950) (Author), Modern Australian women: paintings & prints 1925-1945, Adelaide, 2000, 69 (colour illus.), 80, 84, 126.

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Australian art: in the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Domain, 2000, 218 (colour illus.), 302.

Aspects of Australian art 2000, 2000, (colour illus.). card no. 6: Grace Cossington Smith 'The lacquer room' circa 1935

'September events for members 1999', pg. 24-25., Look Sep 1999, Sep 1999, 24.

'A woman's lot' by Drusilla Modjeska, pg. 22-25., The Weekend Australian magazine 21 Aug 1999-22 Aug 1999, 21 Aug 1999-22 Aug 1999, 5 (colour illus.), 22 (colour illus.). The image appearing on page 5 is in detail.

'An icon of Sydney modernism' by Deborah Edwards and Vivienne Webb, pg.18-19., Look Aug 1999, Aug 1999, 18, 19 (colour illus.).

Exhibitions events - Art Gallery of New South Wales Aug 1999-Oct 1999, Aug 1999-Oct 1999, 12 (colour illus.).

Bruce James (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Director), Art Gallery of New South Wales handbook, Domain, 1999, 144 (colour illus.).

Deborah Edwards (Australia) (Author), Vivienne Webb (Australia) (Author), Australian Collection Focus: Grace Cossington Smith The Lacquer Room 1935-36, Sydney, 1999, cover (colour illus.).

Drusilla Modjeska (Author), Stravinsky's lunch, Sydney, 1999, (colour illus.). plate no. 33

Good Weekend 20 Jul 1996, 20 Jul 1996, 8, 22.

Joan Kerr (Australia, b.1938, d.2004) (Editor), Heritage: The national women's art book, Sydney, 1995, 151 (colour illus.), 152. cat.no. 250

Author Unknown (Author), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Australia, 1994, 307 (illus.).

Grace Cossington Smith: a painter ahead of her time 1993, 1993, 25 (colour illus.). Part of "Headliners" Series

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Patricia McDonald (Editor), Haruo Arikawa (Japan) (Author), Chikashi Kitazaki (Japan) (Editor), Two hundred years of Australian painting: nature, people and art in the southern continent, Tokyo, 1992, 102 (colour illus., detail), 126 (colour illus.). cat.no. 75

Janine Burke (Australia, b.1952) (Author), Australian women artists diary, Birchgrove, circa 1993, 45, 140 (colour illus.), 179. plate no. 68

Daniel Thomas (Editor), Ron Radford (Australia, b.1949) (Assistant Co-ordinator), Creating Australia: 200 years of art 1788-1988, Melbourne, 1988, 9, 174-175, 175 (colour illus.), 239, 247.

'Australian collection' by Daniel Thomas, pg. 52-62., Art and Australia [vol. 10, no. 1] Jul 1972, Jul 1972, 55 (colour illus.).

'Grace Cossington Smith' by Daniel Thomas, pg. 510-521., Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly Jan 1970, Jan 1970, 517, 520 (illus.), 521.

Art and Australia Mar 1967, Mar 1967, 205 (illus.).

Exhibition history (17)

Acquisitions 1967, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 Mar 1968–01 Apr 1968.

The great Australian art exhibition, Queensland Art Gallery, 17 May 1988–17 Jul 1988.

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of Western Australia, 13 Aug 1988–25 Sep 1988.

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 21 Oct 1988–27 Nov 1988.

The great Australian art exhibition, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 21 Dec 1988–05 Feb 1989.

The great Australian art exhibition, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 01 Mar 1989–30 Apr 1989.

The great Australian art exhibition, Art Gallery of South Australia, 23 May 1989–16 Jul 1989.

Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 28 Apr 1992–28 Jun 1992.

Two hundred years of Australian painting : Nature, people and art in the southern continent, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 14 Jul 1992–06 Sep 1992.

Australian Collection Focus: Grace Cossington Smith The lacquer room 1935-36, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 01 Aug 1999–24 Oct 1999.

Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000.

Modern Australian women: paintings and prints, Art Gallery of South Australia, 24 Nov 2000–21 Feb 2001.

Sydney studios, S.H. Ervin Gallery, 14 Aug 2004–26 Sep 2004.

Grace Cossington Smith: a retrospective exhibition (2005), National Gallery of Australia, 04 Mar 2005–13 Jun 2005.

Grace Cossington Smith: a retrospective exhibition (2005), Art Gallery of South Australia, 29 Jul 2005–09 Oct 2005.

Grace Cossington Smith: a retrospective exhibition (2005), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 29 Oct 2005–15 Jan 2006.

Grace Cossington Smith: a retrospective exhibition (2005), Queensland Art Gallery, 11 Feb 2006–30 Apr 2006.