Joan Walsh-Smith


Joan Walsh-Smith is an Australian-based sculptor who works in a variety of mediums and materials. Walsh-Smith has worked on several large-scale memorials throughout Australia. Her most well-known work is the National Australian Army Memorial in Canberra.

Early work

Joan was born in Ireland in 1946. She studied at the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, graduating in 1971. It was here that she met her husband and collaborative partner, Charles Smith. She was awarded her first public commission in 1972, for Gryphon, a 3m x 2m stone carving, located at the Northern Bank, Waterford, Ireland. In 1974 she won the Northern Ireland Arts Council's Art in Context: Public Sculpture Competition, with City People, a 30m bas-relief.

Western Australia

In 1984, Joan immigrated to Western Australia, with her husband and young daughter. She set up Smith Sculptors in Gidgegannup, Western Australia. Joan won her first major Australian commission in 1988, when Smith Sculptors was awarded the National Australian Army memorial project.

Awards

The Smith Sculptors were awarded the Centenary Medal for Outstanding Achievement in the field of ‘Large Scale Public Art’ in 2001 and were finalists for WA Citizen of the Year in 2008. In 2012, they were both awarded Rotary International Paul Harris Fellowship Medals.

Memorial artworks