Australian artist Jeffery Smart has been remembered at a memorial service at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra.
Governor General Quentin Bryce, who knew Mr Smart for 30 years, recalled a man who was a great conversationalist.
"I always called him Mr Smart," she said.
'It somehow suited his urbane self. I think it is fair to say he's one of our most loved artists."
Mr Smart is best known for his figurative depictions of the urban landscape, dotted with road signs, oil drums and freeways, and often featuring a single human figure.
Industrial objects and scenes worked their way into Mr Smart's paintings after they caught his eye while he was driving past.
Former director of the Art Gallery of New South Wales Edmund Capon told the memorial a story about Jeffrey Smart arriving for the opening of a retrospective of his work.
He said Mr Smart observed one of the paintings on loan for the show was not in as good as a condition as he wished it to be.
The artist wandered up to the conservation department and returned with a paintbrush and some varnish, which he then proceeded to apply to the painting in full view of television cameras filming the opening.
National Gallery of Australia Director Ron Radford remembered Mr Smart as sarcastic and amusing.
He said the artist insisted on painting in the figurative style rather than in the abstract style favoured by many of his contemporaries.
Edmund Capon told the memorial, Jeffrey Smart took a solitary and independent journey in the Australian art world.
"He took us on an enigmatic journey around familiar territory," Mr Capon said.
Mr Smart's long-term partner Ermes de Zan attended today's memorial in Canberra.
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