**early life and artistic beginnings** grace cossington smith, a pivotal figure in the history of australian modernist painting, was born on april 20, 1892, in neutral bay, sydney. she was the second of five children to london-born solicitor ernest smith and his wife grace, née fisher, daughter of the rector of cossington in leicestershire. **artistic education and influences** from 1910 to 1911, smith studied drawing with antonio dattilo rubbo, a foundational influence on her early work. her subsequent travels to england (1912-1914) exposed her to the works of watteau in berlin and further s…