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Details
- Date
- 1931
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- oil on canvas on wood
- Dimensions
- 89.5 x 69.2 cm board; 105.5 x 84.5 x 6.0 cm frame
- Signature & date
Signed l.l. corner, pale brown oil "William Dobell". Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1942
- Location
- Not on display
- Accession number
- 7226
- Copyright
- © Courtesy Sir William Dobell Art Foundation
- Artist information
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William Dobell
Works in the collection
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About
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.
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Exhibition history
Shown in 19 exhibitions
Society of Artists Annual Exhibition (1939), Education Department Gallery [Loftus Street], Sydney, 04 Aug 1939–25 Aug 1939
Margaret Preston and William Dobell loan exhibition (1942), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Mar 1942–16 Apr 1942
William Dobell (1944), David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, Sydney, 01 Aug 1944–26 Aug 1944
100 years of Australian painting (1948), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 19 Apr 1948–17 May 1948
Twelve Australian Artists, Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, Bath, 05 Sep 1953–26 Sep 1953
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Bradford Art Gallery, Bradford, 03 Oct 1953–24 Oct 1953
Twelve Australian Artists, Derby Art Gallery, Derby, 05 Dec 1953–26 Dec 1953
Twelve Australian Artists, City Museum & Art Gallery, Bristol, Bristol, 02 Jan 1954–23 Jan 1954
Twelve Australian Artists, City of Belfast Museum and Art Gallery, Northern Ireland, 30 Jan 1954–20 Feb 1954
Twelve Australian Artists, New Burlington Galleries, London, 12 Jul 1954–22 Aug 1954
Esposizione Biennale Internazionale d'Arte Venice, 1954, Australian Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice, 19 Jun 1954–Oct 1954
Contemporary Australian paintings - First loan exhibition, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 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, Sydney, 13 Nov 1956–02 Dec 1956
Contemporary Australian painting (1957), Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tamaki, Auckland, Feb 1957–Mar 1957
William Dobell (1960), Museum of Modern Art in Australia, Melbourne, 17 May 1960–10 Jun 1960
Dobell loan exhibition, Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 22 Jun 1960–30 Jul 1960
Exhibition of paintings by William Dargie, William Dobell, Russell Drysdale, George Finey and William Pidgeon (1963), The Journalist's Club, , 22 Oct 1963 -
Art exhibition (1963), The Journalist's Club, , 22 Oct 1963–post 22 Oct 1963
William Dobell: Paintings from 1926 - 1964 (1964), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 15 Jul 1964–30 Aug 1964
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 14 Feb 1997–27 Apr 1997
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 07 May 1997–06 Jul 1997
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Melbourne, 29 Jul 1997–21 Sep 1997
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Queensland Art Gallery, South Brisbane, 25 Oct 1997–07 Dec 1997
William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart, 08 Jan 1998–01 Mar 1998
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from Australian collections (2000), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 15 Jan 2000–27 Feb 2000
Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart (2002), S.H. Ervin Gallery, The Rocks, 12 Jan 2002–24 Feb 2002
Portraits in context: the early work of William Dobell (2003), Carrick Hill, Australia, 08 Mar 2003–29 Jun 2003
William Dobell: hard drawing (2007-2008), Newcastle Art Gallery, Newcastle, 15 Dec 2007–10 Feb 2008
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Bibliography
Referenced in 14 publications
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William Dobell', William Dobell: portraits in context, 'Portraits in context: selected early works, pg. 21-25, Kent Town, 2003, 22, 38 (colour illus.), back cover (colour illus.).
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Hendrik Kolenberg, William Dobell - the painter's progress, 'Early figure studies', pg. 23-31, Sydney, 1997, 24, 30 (colour illus.), 31, 144. cat.no. 3a
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Hal Missingham, Contemporary Australian painting, 'Introduction', pg. 5-6, Auckland, 1957, inside front cover (illus.), 9. cat.no. 9; plate no. 1
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Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart, Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart selections, Sydney, 2002. NOTE: No catalogue numbers; Margaret Olley selection.
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Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries, Favourites: Margaret Olley and Barry Humphries choose from public and private collections, Sydney, 2000. Catalogue entry appears in inserted list to printed catalogue
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Barry Pearce, Australian painters of the twentieth century, 'William Dobell', pg. 76-87, Sydney, 2000, 78 (colour illus.).
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Bernard Smith, 100 years of Australian painting, 'Foreword', pg. 2-4, Sydney, 1948, 10. cat.no. 58
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The Journalist's Club, Art Exhibition (1963), Sydney, 1963. cat.no. 21
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Laurence Thomas, Twelve Australian artists, 'Introduction', pg. 6-10, London, 1953, 12. cat.no. 4
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Kenneth Wilkinson (Editor), Art in Australia [series 3, no. 77], Sydney, Nov 1939, 10 (illus.).
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Ross Woodrow, William Dobell: hard drawing, Newcastle, 2007, 36, 40 (colour illus.), 68.
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Author Unknown, William Dobell, 1960. plate no. 2, cat.no. 2
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Australian National Journal, Spring 1939, 36 (illus.).
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Editor Unknown (Editor), Australian National Journal, 1942, 60 (illus.).
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