William Dobell
(Australia, England 24 Sep 1899–13 May 1970)
- Title
- Nude
- Year
- 1931
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas on wood
- Dimensions
-
89.5 x 69.2cm board; 105.5 x 84.5 x 6.0cm frame
- Signature & date
- Signed l.l. corner, pale brown oil "William Dobell". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1942
- Accession number
- 7226
- Copyright
- © Courtesy Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.
- Location
- 20th & 21st c Australian art
- Further information
Honing a thing down until you can still get through with economy, that’s power. Learn your technique thoroughly, immerse yourself in it, and then just throw it all out the window and express what you feel – and it will come through that you are a technician.
William Dobell, 1970
William Dobell made some of his finest life studies while attending the Slade School of Fine Art in London from 1929 to 1930, which emphasised a traditional approach and the importance of a grounding in drawing from the life model, followed by painting. Revealing his early mastery of the figure, Dobell’s 'Nude' of 1931 is a work of infinite grace and sensuousness.
- Bibliography (14)
-
Ross Woodrow (Author), William Dobell: hard drawing, Newcastle, 2007, 36, 40 (colour illus.), 68.
Jane Hylton (b.1950) (Author), William Dobell: portraits in context, Kent Town, 2003, 22, 38 (colour illus.), back cover (colour illus.).
Margaret Olley (Australia, b.1923, d.2011) (Author), Jeffrey Smart (Italy; Australia, b.1921) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Director), Christine France (Australia) (Co-ordinator), Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart selections, Sydney, 2002. NOTE: No catalogue numbers; Margaret Olley selection.
Margaret Olley (Australia, b.1923, d.2011) (Author), Barry Humphries (Australia, b.1934) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Director), Christine France (Australia) (Co-ordinator), Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from public and private collections, Sydney, 2000. Catalogue entry appears in inserted list to printed catalogue
Lou Klepac (Australia; Croatia, b.1936) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Bruce James (Australia) (Author), John McDonald (Australia, b.1961) (Author), Peter Pinson (Australia, b.1943) (Author), Gavin Fry (Author), Sasha Grishin AM (Australia) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Author), Australian painters of the twentieth century, Roseville, 2000, 78 (colour illus.).
Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Peter Raissis (Australia) (Author), Prue Davidson (Australia) (Author), Edmund Capon (England; Australia, b.1940) (Author), William Dobell - the painter's progress, Sydney, 1997, 24, 30 (colour illus.), 31, 144. cat.no. 3a
The Journalist's Club (Australia) (Author), Art Exhibition (1963), Sydney, 1963. cat.no. 21
Author Unknown (Author), William Dobell, 1960. plate no. 2, cat.no. 2
Hal Missingham (Australia, b.1906, d.1994) (Author), Contemporary Australian painting, Auckland, 1957, inside front cover (illus.), 9. cat.no. 9; plate no. 1
Laurence Thomas (Author), Arts Council of Great Britain, Welsh Committee (Wales) (Compilator), Twelve Australian artists, London, 1953, 12. cat.no. 4
Bernard Smith (Australia, b.1916, d.2011) (Author), Trustees of the National Art Gallery of New South Wales (Australia), 100 years of Australian painting, Sydney, 1948, 10. cat.no. 58
Australian National Journal 1942, 1942, 60 (illus.).
Art in Australia [vol. 3, no. 77] 15 Nov 1939, 15 Nov 1939, 10 (illus.).
Australian National Journal Spring 1939, Spring 1939, 36 (illus.).
- Exhibition history (29)
-
Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (1939), Education Department Gallery [Loftus Street], 04 Aug 1939–25 Aug 1939.
Margaret Preston and William Dobell loan exhibition (1942), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 Mar 1942–16 Apr 1942.
William Dobell (1944), David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 01 Aug 1944–26 Aug 1944.
100 years of Australian painting (1948), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 Apr 1948–17 May 1948.
Twelve Australian Artists, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, 05 Sep 1953–26 Sep 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Bradford Art Gallery, 03 Oct 1953–24 Oct 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, Derby Art Gallery, 05 Dec 1953–26 Dec 1953.
Twelve Australian Artists, City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, 02 Jan 1954–23 Jan 1954.
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, 30 Jan 1954–20 Feb 1954.
Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d'Arte Venice, 1954, Australian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, 19 Jun 1954–Oct 1954.
Twelve Australian Artists, New Burlington Galleries, 12 Jul 1954–22 Aug 1954.
Contemporary Australian paintings - First loan exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 28 Sep 1955–19 Oct 1955.
Contemporary Australian Painting - Pacific Loan Exhibition (1956), Orient Lines, S.S. "Orcades", 02 Oct 1956–25 Oct 1956.
Contemporary Australian Painting - Pacific Loan Exhibition (1956), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 13 Nov 1956–02 Dec 1956.
Contemporary Australian painting (1957), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Feb 1957–Mar 1957.
William Dobell (1960), Museum of Modern Art in Australia, 17 May 1960–10 Jun 1960.
Dobell loan exhibition, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 22 Jun 1960–30 Jul 1960.
Art exhibition (1963), The Journalist's Club, 22 Oct 1963–post 22 Oct 1963.
Exhibition of paintings by William Dargie, William Dobell, Russell Drysdale, George Finey and William Pidgeon (1963), The Journalist's Club, 22 Oct 1963 -.
William Dobell: Paintings from 1926 - 1964 (1964), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Jul 1964–30 Aug 1964.
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Feb 1997–27 Apr 1997.
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 07 May 1997–06 Jul 1997.
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Museum of Modern Art at Heide, 29 Jul 1997–21 Sep 1997.
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Queensland Art Gallery, 25 Oct 1997–07 Dec 1997.
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 08 Jan 1998–01 Mar 1998.
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from Australian collections (2000), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 15 Jan 2000–27 Feb 2000.
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart (2002), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 12 Jan 2002–24 Feb 2002.
Portraits in context: the early work of William Dobell (2003), Carrick Hill, 08 Mar 2003–29 Jun 2003.
William Dobell: hard drawing (2007-2008), Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 15 Dec 2007–10 Feb 2008.
