Yvonne East was born in Meningie in regional South Australia and studied art at the University of South Australia, Adelaide, and the University of New South Wales, Sydney. Now based in Sydney, East's primary focus is on painting and drawing, however her practice extends to experimental new media and large-scale drawing and digital projection installations. She has participated in several research and exchange projects, and has been artist-in-residence for a number of secondary schools and councils. East has won notable art awards including the 2015 AGNSW Robert Le Gay Brereton Prize, the 2014 Tim Olsen Drawing Prize and the 2012 Country Arts SA Breaking Ground Award. In 2018, she was a finalist in four major national prizes: the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, the Portia Geach Memorial Award, the Blake Prize, and, with her portrait of The Honourable Chief Justice Susan Keifel AC, the Archibald Prize. The following year she was a finalist in the Dobell Drawing Prize. East has completed a number of commissions, including a 130-square-metre mural at Her Majesty's Theatre at the Adelaide Festival Centre in 2021.
