Artist: William Dobell (1899 - 1970)
Nationality: Australian
Movement: Expressionism
Media: Painting
Influences:

Biography:
Born in Australia, Sir William Dobell won a scholarship in 1929 that granted him admission to the Slade School. He returned to Australia nine years later with a new Expressionist style of painting as opposed to his earlier naturalistic approach. By 1944, Dobell had gained popularity throughout his native country and was awarded the Archibald Prize for portraiture around the same time with his painting, Portrait of an Artist. This piece was a depiction of his colleague, Joshua Smith but was fatally damaged by a fire. In addition, the painting caused controversy when two other artists protested the award in the New South Wales Supreme Court, claiming that it was a caricature rather than a portrait. Dobell prevailed over the case, thus marking a milestone for modern art in Australia. His career slowly declined after the incident, but Dobell continued to be a popular portraitist. Later, he also painted landscapes, some of which depicted the landscape of New Guinea.

Artworks in Museum Collections: (60)
Click the artwork titles below to see actual examples of artwork or works of art relevant to works by William Dobell.

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Samuel William Reynolds, Senior William, Youngest Son of Lord William Russell Mezzotint 18th - 19th century
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Mote Spoon, Maker’s mark possibly that of William Cripps or William Chawner  (Artist), circa 1760-1780, Silver
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Mote Spoon, Maker’s mark possibly that of William Cripps or William Chawner  (Artist), circa 1760-1780, Silver
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William Faithorne The Art of Graveing and Etching by William Faithorne (London: William Faithorne, 1662) Book with 9 etchings with engraving 1662
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William Henry Watt William Lourdsworth 19th century
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William Page - Mrs. William Page 1860-61 oil on canvas The Detroit Institute of Art American
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Arthur William Devis - The Hon. William Monson and His Wife, Ann Debonnaire c. 1786 oil on canvas Los Angeles County Museum of Art English
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William Nicholson London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) book with color plates 1898
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William Page - Colonel William Leete Stone 1839 oil on canvas Cleveland Museum of Art American
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William Nicholson An Almanac of Twelve Sports (London: William Heinemann, 1898) book with color plates 1898
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William Bagdatopoulos - Dr. William Henry Holmes 1929 oil on canvas Smithsonian American Art Museum American
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William Nicholson Hammersmith, fifth plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson The Tower, third plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson Kensington, second plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson Any Bar, twelfth plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Merritt Chase - Portrait of President William Waugh Smith 1907 oil on canvas The Maier Museum of Art American
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Adriaen Pynacker William of Orange (William III) Commemorative Plate polychrome tin - glazed earthenware 1690
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The Hon. William Monson and His Wife, Ann Debonnaire, Arthur William Devis (England, 1762 - 1822)  (Artist), circa 1786
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William Hancock Wilke William Andrew Clark, Jr. Drypoint 19th - 20th century
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William Nicholson Rotten Row, sixth plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson The City, ninth plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson Any Corner, eleventh plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Nicholson The Horse Guards, first plate in the book London Types (London: William Heinemann, 1898) color plate 1898
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William Faithorne How to Dry or Harden the Varnish..., plate 2 opposite page 9 in the book The Art of Graveing and Etching by William Faithorne (London: William Faithorne, 1662) etching with engraving 1662
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William Faithorne Hot to Guide Your Needles..., plate 4 opposite page 12 in the book The Art of Graveing and Etching by William Faithorne (London: William Faithorne, 1662) etching with engraving 1662
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William Faithorne Hot to Choose Your Needles..., plate 3 opposite page 10 in te book The Art of Graveing and Etching by William Faithorne (London: William Faithorne, 1662) etching with engraving 1662
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William Faithorne How to Use the Oval Points..., plate 5 opposite page 15 in the book The Art of Graveing and Etching by William Faithorne (London: William Faithorne, 1662) etching with engraving 1662
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840
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William Henry Bartlett plate opposite page ? in the book The Danube by William Beattie (London & New York: Virtue & Co., [ca. 1840]) engraving 1840

Artnews Articles and Exhibition Information: (7)
Click on any of the links below to read about artnews or exhibitions related to Dobell

Art Gallery of New South Wales: Dobell Prize for Drawing 2007
That has been left for competing artists to define by their practice and for each individual judge, annually appointed by the trustees of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation, to determine in the process of looking at all the entries. This flexib...
Art Gallery of New South Wales: The Archibald, Wynne & Sulman Prizes And Dobell Drawing Prize
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First Street Gallery: Guest Artist - BYRON DOBELL Recent Works
Although Dobell is best known as a portraitist, his shows are devoted to landscapes and figurative works. He has exhibited at the American Academy of Arts and Letters and at the Century Association in New York where he is an artist member. His wor...
Art Gallery of New South Wales: The 2002 Archibald Prize - Wynne and Sulman Prizes and Dobell Drawing Prize
With the financial support of the Colonial Foundation Trust, the winner of the Archibald Prize receives $35,000, the Wynne Prize for landscape painting $15,000, and the Sulman Prize for subject/genre painting and/or mural work $10,000. The winner...
Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts: Space Active: Gosia Wlodarczak
Gosia draws her environment as she sees it in real time - tracing and re-tracing the visible. The video documentation of her art-making process forms and important part of this exhibition. Wlodarczak’s art works are made manifest through the a...
National Gallery of Australia: Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901-2001
Federation: Australian Art and Society 1901-2001 is an exhibition that confronts such questions. A mosaic of the past century, Federation looks at the entire sweep ...
De Havilland Gallery: Nudes 07: Local and International Artists Interpret the Human Form
The artworks on display are a diverse range of drawings, sculpture, paintings and digital photography of the human body, in all its glory. Nude’s 07 covers classic poses, abstract interpretation, bold colours and subtle meanings. There is thought ...

Further Artwork and Information:

A Biography of Sir William Dobell
William Dobell (1891 - 1969) Biography, Artwork Images, Exhibitions, Reviews
William Dobell bibliography
William Dobell
glbtq >> arts >> Dobell, Sir William
William Dobells The Dead Landlord
William Dobell Biography
Wakefield Press William Dobell
William Dobell
MSN Encarta - Dobell, Sir William

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