William Dobell

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Sir William Dobell (24 September 1899, Newcastle, New South Wales - 13 May 1970, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales) was a famous Australian artist, well known for his portrait painting.[1] He won the 1943 Archibald Prize with a portrait of another artist, Joshua Smith.[1] The painting became the centre of a court case when two other artists said it was not a portrait, but a caricature.[1] They said this meant it should not have won the prize. Dobell won the legal case, but it caused him many health problems and led to a nervous breakdown.[1] He kept away from people and went to live in his parent's holiday house, Wangi Wangi, on the shores of Lake Macquarie.

References[change | change source]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eagle, Mary (1996). "Sir William Dobell". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 1 August 2011.