Congratulations to Inga Dalrymple, selected as a finalist in the 2026 Abbotsleigh Grace Cossington Smith Art Award. This year's theme is 'Making Connections' and finalists have been chosen by judges Barry Keldoulis, Artbank Client Services Coordinator and Anna Davis, Curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. The exhibition theme has been inspired by the art of Grace Cossington Smith whose work reveals her connections to her world – to family, domestic life, the local Turramurra area, the changing city of Sydney and ultimately to the modern art of Europe.
'This is a painting of a view from my window, where a neighboring roofline hovers between recognition and abstraction. As I move through the house, I am repeatedly drawn back to this quiet scene, noticing how light, shape, and reflection alter its presence. In painting it, I seek to transform the familiar into a restrained visual language, allowing an everyday view to become something more considered. Through this process, I make a connection between daily life, place, and perception, finding meaning in what is often overlooked. '- Inga Dalrymple, 2026
Grace Cossington Smith attended Abbotsleigh from 1908-1910 where she began drawing; in 1909 she commenced drawing studies with Antonio Dattilo-Rubbo and in 1914 she started painting. Grace Cossington Smith is regarded as one of Australia’s foremost modernist artists and she was a brilliant colourist.
‘My chief interest, has always been colour, but not crude flat colour, it must be colour within colour, it has to shine; light must be in it, it is no good having heavy, dead colour.’
- Grace Cossington Smith, 1965
The exhibition will run from 18 July - 15 August 2026 at The Grace Cossington Smith Gallery.
Inga Dalrymple, Beside Me, Oil on Linen, Original, 30 x 23cm
The Grace Cossington Smith Art Gallery
1666 Pacific Hwy, Wahroonga NSW 2076
May 25, 2026
