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Discover the untold story of

Gray Smith, Australian Artist

A Biography in the making: sign-up to follow the journey…​

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Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL. Permissions
Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL. Permissions
Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL. Permissions
Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL. Permissions
Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL. Permissions
Courtesy of the Smith Estate. © Smith Estate. Used with permission via CAL.
About the Author

Hi, I’m Shawn Callahan, Gray Smith’s son-in-law. I’m writing his biography, pulling together stories, archives and memories. In 2024 I gave a talk at Heide Gallery about Gray.

I’d love your help in bringing his life back into focus.

Watch the video here
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What you’ll get: behind-the-scenes updates and discoveries I make along the way. Rare photos, artworks and other gems from Gray’s life. Excerpts from the biography-in-progress to spark your memories, and invitations to talks and events.


I’m on a bit of a treasure hunt while writing Gray Smith’s biography. A painting, a scribble, a letter, or even a funny or poignant memory could help fill in the gaps. If you’ve got something, big or small, I’d love to know.

Learn more about Gray Smith…

I've been gathering information as I research for the book. Let's dive in.
Picasso cutouts and a painting inspired by Matisse

A visit to Musée Picasso Paris

April 12, 2026

Standing in the Musée Picasso today, I kept coming back to one simple thought. Artists don’t evolve in a straight line. They change in moments. Picasso is the obvious case. Around 1906, after seeing the work of Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse and spending time with Gertrude Stein and others, he began questioning the basics. Did perspective matter? Did form need to follow tradition? Within a year, he was working towards Les Demoiselles d’Avignon and the invention of Cubism. That moment reset the direction of modern art. What struck me in the museum was that this wasn’t gradual. It was a response to exposure. New people. New work. A new way of thinking. When Matisse died, Picasso made a number of works

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Typed letter from Alfred H. Barr Jr. to John Reed dated 25 October 1963 discussing Gray Smith’s painting The Tank at MoMA

The Tank at MoMA: a more nuanced story

February 2, 2026

In 1958, John Reed sent Gray Smith’s painting The Tank to New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The episode has usually been described as a quiet rejection. A newly uncovered 1963 letter from Alfred H. Barr Jr., MoMA’s founding director, tells a more nuanced story. Quoted in full, the letter shows how Barr’s view of the painting changed over time, and why The Tank was ultimately accepted into MoMA’s Study Collection.

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1966 – The Galloping Parson – Gray Smith

The Canberry Paintings: What We Know So Far

January 17, 2026

This post begins my investigation into Gray Smith’s Canberry Paintings, a 1966 exhibition that set out to paint Canberra’s first hundred years. Drawing on reviews, archives, and Joan Smith’s research notes, I explore how the exhibition came together, how it was received, and what it reveals about how Canberra’s past was understood at the time.

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Portrait of Daisy Bates painted by Gray Smith in 1976, showing Bates wearing a wide-brimmed hat and glasses

After television: Gray Smith and Daisy Bates

January 4, 2026

In the early 1970s, the ABC commissioned Gray Smith to create paintings and cartoons for its four-part Daisy Bates television series. This post looks at that broadcast work, the biblical cartoons made for television, and the 1976 painting Gray produced after the series went to air.

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Gray by Fern Smith
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