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An image of Margaret Olley by William Dobell

William Dobell

(Australia, England 24 Sep 1899–13 May 1970)

Title
Margaret Olley
Year
1948
Media category
Painting
Materials used
oil on hardboard
Dimensions

114.3 x 85.7cm board; 148.0 x 118.5 x 12.0cm frame

Signature & date
Signed and dated l.l. corner, white oil "WILLIAM DOBELL 48".
Credit
Purchased 1949
Accession number
8164
Copyright
© Courtesy Sir William Dobell Art Foundation.
Location
20th & 21st c Australian art
Further information

Loudon Sainthill had an exhibition opening, and on the invitation he had written: ‘Darling Oll, come dressed as a duchess’. I didn’t have anything to wear, so a friend gave me his grandmother’s wedding dress sleeves and helped me make an extravagant dress from ex-war supply parachute silk … Dobell said he’d like to paint a portrait of me, so I went to his flat the next week.

Margaret Olley, 1990

This is one of William Dobell’s finest and best-loved portraits, depicting his fellow artist and a beloved figure of Australian art, Margaret Olley. Echoing the spirit of Gainsborough and Renoir, this painting marked Dobell’s return to portraiture, for which he was awarded his second Archibald Prize.

Olley modelled for Dobell’s sketches in a plain dress with only a hat for ornament, but Dobell based his painting on the extravagant outfit the young artist had worn to an exhibition opening.

Bibliography (70)

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Elizabeth Donaldson (Australia) (Author), Robert Donaldson (Author), William Dobell: his life, art and home, New South Wales, 2011, 57, 59 (colour illus.), 75, 85 (illus.), 136. NOTE: Illustration on page 85 is a panorama photograph of the 1964 Dobell Retrospective

Elizabeth Donaldson (Australia) (Author), William Dobell: an artist's life, New South Wales, 2010, 107, 108 (colour illus.), 109, 153 (illus.), 198 (colour illus.). NOTE: Illustration on page 153 is a panorama photograph of the 1964 Dobell Retrospective

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Ross Woodrow (Author), William Dobell: hard drawing, Newcastle, 2007, 8, 9 (colour illus.), 49, 69. NOTE: this work was not included in the exhibition.

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'Yours sincerely: William Dobell' by Judith White, pg. 56-59., Australian art collector Apr 2000-Jun 2000, Apr 2000-Jun 2000, 59.

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, 83-84, 86 (colour illus.), 87 (colour illus., detail).

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Mary Eagle (Australia, b.1944) (Author), Lola Wilkins (Australia) (Author), A tribute to William Dobell, Canberra, 1999, 14, 16 (colour illus.), 17,19, 57.

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Exhibition history (37)

Archibald, Wynne and Sulman (1948), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 22 Jan 1949–07 Mar 1949.

Purchases and Acquisitions for 1949, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 17 Dec 1949–17 Feb 1950.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 12 Mar 1951–31 Mar 1951.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, 09 Apr 1951–28 Apr 1951.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Jun 1951–21 Jul 1951.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Queensland Art Gallery, 06 Aug 1951–01 Sep 1951.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of South Australia, 24 Sep 1951–20 Oct 1951.

Jubilee exhibition of Australian art, Art Gallery of Western Australia, 12 Nov 1951–10 Dec 1951.

A retrospective exhibition of Australian painting, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Sep 1953–25 Oct 1953.

Artists by artists (1954), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 04 Nov 1954–05 Dec 1954.

New South Wales Travelling Art Scholarship 1900 to 1956, National Art Gallery of New South Wales, Apr 1956 -.

The Arts Festival of the Olympic Games (1956), National Gallery of Victoria [Swanston Street], 18 Nov 1956–15 Dec 1956.

The art of William Dobell (1959), Finney's Art Gallery, 11 Aug 1959–11 Sep 1959.

William Dobell: Paintings from 1926 - 1964 (1964), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Jul 1964–30 Aug 1964.

William Dobell: an exhibition of selected works (1965), Qantas Gallery, London, 14 Sep 1965–16 Oct 1965.

Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 06 May 1992–28 Jun 1992.

Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery, National Gallery of Australia, 10 Jul 1992–09 Aug 1992.

Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery, Queensland Art Gallery, 25 Aug 1992–20 Sep 1992.

Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 22 Oct 1992–22 Nov 1992.

Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery, Art Gallery of South Australia, 03 Dec 1992–31 Jan 1993.

The Drawings of William Dobell in the Australian National Gallery (1993), David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, 01 Apr 1993–25 Apr 1993.

Margaret Olley Retrospective (1996-97), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 25 Oct 1996–05 Jan 1997.

Margaret Olley Retrospective (1996-97), Brisbane City Hall Art Gallery and Museum, 17 Jan 1997–23 Feb 1997.

William Dobell the painter's progress (1997-1998), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 14 Feb 1997–27 Apr 1997.

Margaret Olley Retrospective (1996-97), Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 19 Apr 1997–08 Jun 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.

A Tribute to William Dobell (1999), The Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, 02 Sep 1999–03 Oct 1999.

Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000.

Wellconnected - Dobell & Company, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, 12 May 2001–17 Jun 2001.

Well connected: Dobell & company, Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, 12 May 2001–17 Jun 2001.

Favourites: Margaret Olley and Jeffrey Smart (2002), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 12 Jan 2002–24 Feb 2002.

Breaking new ground: Brisbane women artists of the mid-twentieth century, Queensland University of Technology Art Museum, 27 Jul 2007–30 Sep 2007.

Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 05 Oct 2011–27 Nov 2011.

Australian modern masterpieces from the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Newcastle Region Art Gallery, 10 Dec 2011–04 Mar 2012.