William Dobell
Encyclopedia
Sir William Dobell, OBE
(24 September 1899 – 13 May 1970) was an Australia
n artist
(sculptor
and painter
).
The electoral Division of Dobell
is named after him.
, New South Wales
in Australia
. His father was a builder and there were six children.
Dobell's artistic talents were evident early. In 1916, he was apprenticed to Newcastle architect
, Wallace L. Porter and in 1924 he moved to Sydney
as a draftsman. In 1925, he enrolled in evening art classes at the Sydney Art School (which later became the Julian Ashton School of Art), with Henry Gibbons as his teacher. He was influenced by George Lambert
.
In 1929, Dobell was awarded the Society of Artists' Travelling Scholarship and travelled to England
to the Slade School where he studied under Wilson Steer, Henry Tonks
and William Orpen
. In 1930, he won first prize for figure painting at Slade and also travelled to Poland
. In 1931 he moved on to Belgium
and Paris
, and after 10 years in Europe returned to Australia - taking with him a new Expressionist style of painting as opposed to his earlier naturalistic approach.
In 1939, he began as a part-time teacher at East Sydney Technical College. After the breakout of war, he was drafted into the Civil Construction Corps of the Allied Works Council in 1941 as a camouflage
painter; he later became an unofficial war artist
. In 1944, he had his first solo exhibition including public collection loans at the inauguration of the David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney.
In 1949, he visited New Guinea
as a guest of Sir Edward Hallstrom
with writers Frank Clune
and Colin Simpson. The trip inspired a new series of tiny, brilliantly coloured landscapes. In 1950, he revisited New Guinea and on his return to Wangi he continued to paint scenes of New Guinea, as well as portraits.
Between 1960 and 1963 TIME
magazine commissioned Dobell to paint four portraits for covers, one per year, of: Robert Menzies
, Prime Minister of Australia
; South Vietnam
's President Ngo Dinh Diem
; Frederick G. Donner, the Chairman of General Motors; and Tunku Abdul Rahman
, Prime Minister of Malaysia
.
In 1964, Dobell exhibited in a major retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
and the first monograph of his work was written by James Gleeson
.
Dobell was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
(OBE) in 1965 and was knight
ed in 1966. He was gay and consequently never married, while several of his works carried strong homoerotic overtones. He died in 1970 in the New South Wales
town of Wangi Wangi. The sole beneficiary of his estate was the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, which was founded on 19 January 1971.
A book on the life and art of William Dobell, William Dobell: An Artist's Life by Elizabeth Donaldson, was compiled in 2010 with the support of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation and Dobell House, in Wangi Wangi. It is published by Exisle Publishing.
"Portrait of an artist" was awarded the Archibald Prize
. This was contested in 1944 by two unsuccessful artists who brought a lawsuit against Dobell and the Gallery's Board of Trustees in the Supreme Court of New South Wales
on the grounds that the painting was a caricature. The award was upheld but the ordeal left Dobell emotionally disturbed and he retreated in 1945 to his sister's home at Wangi Wangi on Lake Macquarie
, where he began to paint landscapes. Dobell did not like fame and it nearly destroyed him.
In 1948, Dobell entered "Margaret Olley
" in the Archibald and won; he also won the Wynne prize
for "Storm approaching Wangi".
In 1959, Dobell again won the Archibald for "Dr E. G. MacMahon".
Among private and other public holdings, examples of Dobell's work are exhibited in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of New South Wales
, and the National Gallery of Australia
in Canberra
.
The book William Dobell: An Artist's Life by Elizabeth Donaldson published in 2010 includes many of Dobell's works, as well as archival photographs.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(24 September 1899 – 13 May 1970) was an Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
(sculptor
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
).
The electoral Division of Dobell
Division of Dobell
The Division of Dobell is an Australian electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1984 and is named for Sir William Dobell, the painter. It is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales and includes the towns of The Entrance, Tuggerah and Wyong...
is named after him.
Life
William Dobell was born in Cooks Hill, a working class neighbourhood of NewcastleNewcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. His father was a builder and there were six children.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, Wallace L. Porter and in 1924 he moved to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
as a draftsman. In 1925, he enrolled in evening art classes at the Sydney Art School (which later became the Julian Ashton School of Art), with Henry Gibbons as his teacher. He was influenced by George Lambert
George Lambert (English painter)
George Lambert was an English landscape artist and theatre scene painter. He has been described as the Father of English Landscape Oil Painting.-Life and work:...
.
In 1929, Dobell was awarded the Society of Artists' Travelling Scholarship and travelled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to the Slade School where he studied under Wilson Steer, Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks
Henry Tonks, FRCS was a British draughtsman and painter of figure subjects, chiefly interiors, and a caricaturist...
and William Orpen
William Orpen
Major Sir William Newenham Montague Orpen, KBE, RA, RHA was an Irish portrait painter, who worked mainly in London...
. In 1930, he won first prize for figure painting at Slade and also travelled to Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. In 1931 he moved on to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and after 10 years in Europe returned to Australia - taking with him a new Expressionist style of painting as opposed to his earlier naturalistic approach.
In 1939, he began as a part-time teacher at East Sydney Technical College. After the breakout of war, he was drafted into the Civil Construction Corps of the Allied Works Council in 1941 as a camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
painter; he later became an unofficial war artist
War artist
A war artist depicts some aspect of war through art; this might be a pictorial record or it might commemorate how "war shapes lives." War artists have explored a visual and sensory dimension of war which is often absent in written histories or other accounts of warfare.- Definition and context:A...
. In 1944, he had his first solo exhibition including public collection loans at the inauguration of the David Jones Art Gallery, Sydney.
In 1949, he visited New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
as a guest of Sir Edward Hallstrom
Edward Hallstrom
Sir Edward John Lees Hallstrom was one of Australia's best-known philanthropists and businessmen of the mid-20th Century.-Early life:...
with writers Frank Clune
Frank Clune
Francis Patrick Clune, OBE, was a best-selling Australian author, travel writer and popular historian.-Early life and career:Frank Clune was born in Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney in 1893, and grew up in Redfern...
and Colin Simpson. The trip inspired a new series of tiny, brilliantly coloured landscapes. In 1950, he revisited New Guinea and on his return to Wangi he continued to paint scenes of New Guinea, as well as portraits.
Between 1960 and 1963 TIME
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine commissioned Dobell to paint four portraits for covers, one per year, of: Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
, Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
; South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
's President Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngo Dinh Diem
Ngô Đình Diệm was the first president of South Vietnam . In the wake of the French withdrawal from Indochina as a result of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Diệm led the effort to create the Republic of Vietnam. Accruing considerable U.S. support due to his staunch anti-Communism, he achieved victory in a...
; Frederick G. Donner, the Chairman of General Motors; and Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman
Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj ibni Almarhum Sultan Abdul Hamid Halim Shah, AC, CH was Chief Minister of the Federation of Malaya from 1955, and the country's first Prime Minister from independence in 1957. He remained as the Prime Minister after Sabah, Sarawak, and Singapore joined the...
, Prime Minister of Malaysia
Prime Minister of Malaysia
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is the indirectly elected head of government of Malaysia. He is officially appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the head of state, who in HM's judgment is likely to command the confidence of the majority of the members of that House of Representatives , the...
.
In 1964, Dobell exhibited in a major retrospective at the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
and the first monograph of his work was written by James Gleeson
James Gleeson
James Timothy Gleeson was Australia's foremost artist. He was also a poet, critic, writer and curator. He played a significant role in the Australian art scene, including serving on the board of the National Gallery of Australia.-Early life:Gleeson was born in the Sydney district of Hornsby and he...
.
Dobell was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in 1965 and was knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
ed in 1966. He was gay and consequently never married, while several of his works carried strong homoerotic overtones. He died in 1970 in the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
town of Wangi Wangi. The sole beneficiary of his estate was the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, which was founded on 19 January 1971.
A book on the life and art of William Dobell, William Dobell: An Artist's Life by Elizabeth Donaldson, was compiled in 2010 with the support of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation and Dobell House, in Wangi Wangi. It is published by Exisle Publishing.
Awards
In 1943, Dobell's work of Joshua SmithJoshua Smith
Joshua Smith was an Australian artist who won the Archibald Prize in 1944 with his portrait of Hon Sol Rosevear, MHR, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, but is more well known as being the subject of the previous years controversial Archibald Prize win, by artist William...
"Portrait of an artist" was awarded the Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
. This was contested in 1944 by two unsuccessful artists who brought a lawsuit against Dobell and the Gallery's Board of Trustees in the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Supreme Court of New South Wales
The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian State of New South Wales...
on the grounds that the painting was a caricature. The award was upheld but the ordeal left Dobell emotionally disturbed and he retreated in 1945 to his sister's home at Wangi Wangi on Lake Macquarie
Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)
Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal salt water lake, covering an area of in the Hunter Region of New South Wales with most of the City of Lake Macquarie's residents living near its shores. It is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Lake Macquarie is twice as large as Sydney...
, where he began to paint landscapes. Dobell did not like fame and it nearly destroyed him.
In 1948, Dobell entered "Margaret Olley
Margaret Olley
Margaret Hannah Olley AC was an Australian painter. She was the subject of more than 90 solo exhibitions.Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She attended Somerville House in Brisbane during her high school years...
" in the Archibald and won; he also won the Wynne prize
Wynne Prize
The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. One of Australia's longest running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne...
for "Storm approaching Wangi".
In 1959, Dobell again won the Archibald for "Dr E. G. MacMahon".
Analysis
Dobell's style is unique in being able to adapt to suit the character of his subject. This was best described by James Gleeson; "One of the astonishing things about Dobell's portraiture is his ability to adjust his style to the nature of the personality he is portraying ... If the character of his sitter is broad and generous, he paints broadly and generously. If the character is contained and inward looking, he uses brushstrokes that convey this fact. In his later portraits one has only to look at a few square inches of a painted sleeve to know what sort of person is wearing it."Among private and other public holdings, examples of Dobell's work are exhibited in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery, the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
, and the National Gallery of Australia
National Gallery of Australia
The National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
Exhibitions
Dobell had the following solo exhibitions:- 1942 'Margaret Preston and William Dobell loan exhibition' Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 March-16 April
- 1944 'William Dobell', David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 1–26 August
- 1954 'William Dobell, exhibition of paintings', David Jones' Art Gallery, 27 January-17 February
- 1959 'The Art of William Dobell' National Gallery Society of Queensland, Finney Isles Gallery, BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, August–September - 1960 'William Dobell', War Memorial Gallery of Fine Arts, The University of SydneyUniversity of SydneyThe University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
, 12–27 April - 1960 'William Dobell', Museum of Modern Art of Australia, MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, 17 May-10 June - 1960 'Dobell loan exhibition', Newcastle City Art Gallery, 22 June-30 July
- 1960 Adelaide]], Adelaide Festival of ArtsAdelaide Festival of ArtsThe Adelaide Festival of Arts is an arts festival held biennially in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Although locally considered to be one of the world's greatest celebrations of the arts, that is internationally renowned and the pre-eminent cultural event in Australia, it is actually...
- 1964 'William Dobell paintings from 1926-1964', Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 July-30 August
- 1964 'William Dobell exhibitions', Bendigo Art GalleryBendigo Art GalleryBendigo Art Gallery in Bendigo, founded in 1887, is one of Australia’s oldest and largest regional art galleries. The Bendigo Art Gallery hosts Australia's richest open painting prize, the Arthur Guy Memorial Painting Prize, worth $50,000, which was launched in 2003.- Prizes :* Arthur Guy Memorial...
, Bendigo, VictoriaBendigo, VictoriaBendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, November - 1965 'William Dobell, first London exhibition', Commonwealth Arts Festival, QantasQantasQantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
Gallery, London, 16 Sept.-2 Oct. - 1970 'Sir William Dobell recent paintings', Newcastle City Art Gallery, 3–26 April
- 1970 'Paintings and Drawings by Sir William Dobell', Girl Guides Association of New South WalesGuides AustraliaGirl Guides Australia is the national Guiding organisation in Australia. It provides a girls only space and its mission is to enable girls and young women to grow into confident, self respecting members of the community. Membership is open to all girls and young women from all cultures, faiths and...
, Robert Wardrop Galleries, Sydney, 26 September-1 October - 1985 'William Dobell. The Painting of a Portrait', Lake Macquarie Community Gallery, 7 February-10 March; S. H. Ervin Gallery, 21 March-28 April
- 1993 'William Dobell exhibitions', David Jones Art Gallery, 1–21 April
- 1997-1998 'William Dobell; the painter's progress,' The Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 February-27 April 97; Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 7 May-6 July 97; Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Melbourne, 29 July-21 September 97; Queensland Art Gallery, 25 October-7 December 97; TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n Museum and Art Gallery, 8 January-1 March 98
The book William Dobell: An Artist's Life by Elizabeth Donaldson published in 2010 includes many of Dobell's works, as well as archival photographs.
External links
- Biography
- http://www.balgal.com/?id=dobellwilliamJohhny Russell c1955 - Ballarat Fine Art GalleryBallarat Fine Art GalleryArt Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. Established in 1884 as the Ballarat Fine Art Gallery by the citizens of Ballarat both the building and part of its collection is listed on the Victorian Heritage Registerand by the National Trust of Victoria.The...
.] - William Dobell on Artabase. Sketch for Margaret Olley 1948
- Judith White, William Dobell: Yours Sincerely, Australian Art Collector Issue 12 Apr-Jun 2000