His work has been part of its collection since before the National Gallery was the National Gallery. In 1959 - before the gallery's formal establishment - the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board purchased the artist's 1951 painting, Wallaroo, making it one of the earliest pieces in the collection.

"It holds the nucleus of what we now know as the National Collection," director Nick Mitzevich said.

"And the painting of Wallaroo from 1951 was a really important painting for Jeffrey Smart because he won quite a critical award at that time, and it helped nurture the confidence of a young emerging artist.

"Jeffrey Smart made an impact on generations of artists, art students and art lovers and we are pleased to remember his remarkable life."

From Saturday, Canberrans can see this piece - along with more than 100 other works from the artist - when the National Gallery of Australia opens its summer blockbuster, Jeffrey Smart.

Marking the centenary of Smart's birth in 1921, the exhibition brings together works from public lenders and private collectors as well as drawing on National Gallery's collection, to trace his artistic legacy from his early years in South Australia to his last painting, Labyrinth, completed in 2011, two years before his death.

Exhibition curators Deborah Hart and Rebecca Edwards, have explored Smart's career to share different dimensions for audiences familiar with his practice, as well as inspiring visitors who are discovering his art for the first time.

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"We acknowledge the work that's done in the past, but I think the difference with not actually doing a retrospective is that we don't feel obliged to do every major work," Dr Hart said.

"Instead, we wanted to make sure that every single work in the exhibition counts. And in a way, we're bringing works from different collections means the works were able to find their friends for the first time in many years. So works that were painted around the same time, that have gone in different directions, are able to come together."

While art was always a passion, it was not until his 40s that Smart was painting full-time. He began his working life as a teacher and his career included stints as an art critic, presenter on the ABC children's radio program The Argonauts, and a teacher at the National Art School.

After a life-long fascination with Europe, Smart settled in Italy with his long-term partner Ermes De Zan in the 1970s but continued to return regularly to Australia.

"Anyone that's familiar with him knows that he was very reluctant to tell stories about his work and often insist they weren't about anything when he was asked to explain what was happening, what the meaning was," Dr Edwards said.

"Instead would say that they were all about geometry ... which is quite misleading and it is not entirely true. But for us, it was a real starting point for us for exploring his work in a new way."

The exhibition will run for an extended season until May 15. Tickets from nga.gov.au.

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