Born in New South Wales in 1905, studies at the East Sydney Technical College and the Julian Ashton School. During World War II he worked in a mobile camouflage unit. He became the subject of drawings and paintings by Sir William Dobell, and Smith is known not only for his painting, but for the controversial portrait painted of him by Sir William Dobell, and which won the Archibald Prize in 1943. Joshua Smith himself won the Archibald Prize in 1944. He exhibited with the New South Wales Society of Artists and the Royal Art Society, Sydney. He died in 1995. The Manly Gallery, Sydney held a restropective of his work in 2005-2006.
The earliest auction listing we have for Joshua Smith is in 1967 and in total 133 works by the artist have been offered for sale, of which 92 (69%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $17,080 for Poppies (Circa 1930) sold by Sotheby's in May 2016. This year 4 works have been offered for sale. Works by Joshua Smith are held by the Art Gallery of NSW, National Portrait Gallery and a further three major public national galleries (see list below).
Joshua Smith is listed in the following standard biographical references:
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
Access to the database is available on either a monthly or annual subscription. During the subscription period you have unlimited access to the site. If you would like to subscribe, please proceed to our Subscription Form.