William Dobell b. 24 September 1899

Also known as Bill Dobell, Sir William Dobell
  • Artist (Painter),
  • Artist (Cartoonist / Illustrator)
William Dobell came from a working class family in Newcastle to become one of Australia's most loved artist and the creator of fashionable portraits. He was awarded the 1943 Archibald Prize for his portrait of fellow artist Joshua Smith and in 1960 his portrait of the Prime Minister, Robert Menzies, was on the cover of 'Time' magazine.
Tags: Archibald Prize
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  • received
    Archibald Prize
    Recognition type
    Award
    Description

    Established by the bequest of J.F. Archibald, the founding editor of the Bulletin, the annual Archibald Prize is awarded to the best portrait ‘preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics, painted by any artist resident in Australasia during the 12 months preceding the date fixed by the Trustees for sending in the pictures’.

    Website
    https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/
  • received
    Knighthood
    Recognition type
    Award
  • received
    Wynne Prize
    Dates
    1948
    Recognition type
    Award

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painter and graphic artist. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, holds
William Dobell was born on 24 September 1899 at Cooks Hill in Newcastle, the sixth and youngest child of Robert Dobell, a bricklayer,and his wife Margaret Emma Wrightson. At Cooks Hill Commercial Public School his teacher, John Walker, noticed his talent for drawing and encouraged him. By 1916 he was working as a technical draughtsman for a local architect, Wallace Lintott Porter. ¶
In 1924 he moved to Sydney where he worked for the pressed metal manufacturers' Wunderlich, while undertaking evening classes at the Sydney Art School under Henry Gibbons. His precocious talent for drawing soon attracted attention. When he was awarded the NSW Travelling Art Scholarship in 1929, both Wunderlich and the Committee for the Artists' Ball supplemented the funds as they knew this student did not have a wealthy family to subsidise his international travel. ¶

_Cigarette Queue, Kings Cross_ 1942 and _Three Tarty Ladies_ (not dated), both pen and ink, acq. 1973. Also an official war drawing of Garden Island Graving Dock barrowman c.1943, _C.C.C. worker scratching his head_ , pen and ink, and a ballpoint self portrait (not dated), one of 40 drawings selected from the artist's estate. ¶

Dobell drew magazine illustrations to make money when he was in London in the 1930s. Mary Eagle records that Dobell told his biographer James Gleeson 'that the editors of illustrated magazines only wanted corny jokes about sailors and pretty women'. She notes a drawing in cartoon style in one of his sketchbooks (c.1933, National Gallery of Australia [NGA]) showing a Salvation Army officer peering through a bathroom keyhole and saying to a fellow officer, "Quick Joey! Play the National Anthem!" He also designed posters, e.g. _Orient Line to Australia_ (NGA). His paintings, of course, were accused of being caricatures, especially the Archibald Prize winning portrait of Joshua Smith. ¶

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