Born in 1930, Audette has been called Australia's greatest living abstract expressionist. Laboring in relative obscurity throughout the later 20th century, she finally gained the attention she deserved after a major book on her work was published in 2003: Yvonne Audette Paintings and Drawings 1949-2014 by Christopher Heathcote. Her early influence was Cezanne through her teacher John Passmore.