William Dobell - Sketchbooks

William Dobell – Sketchbooks is an episode of the series Hidden Treasures (15 × 5 mins) produced in 2006.

The National Gallery of Australia has more than 100,000 works in its collection—an extraordinary reservoir of creative vision and cultural history, from decorative arts to photography and sculpture.

Yet on a visit to the gallery, you’ll see only the tip of this iceberg. Carefully stored away are the things that can’t be placed on permanent display.

These unseen gems include works of exquisite fragility, from brilliant hand-painted fabrics to delicate works on paper. From Australia, the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania, there are masks and carvings, lithographs and linocuts, set designs and stage costumes, sketchpads and handprinted books, marionettes and maquettes, teapots and textiles, and much, much more.

Now in this series of micro-docs, former director of the gallery Betty Churcher presents an insider’s guide to some of these 'hidden treasures’.

In the entertaining, accessible style for which she is renowned, Betty Churcher takes us behind the scenes, sharing with us her passion and insights. From her unique vantage point, she makes intriguing connections between a range of different objects and artists, linking them to the stories that surround them.

These are fascinating tales—about the works themselves, the people who created them and the challenge of preserving them—and a tantalising look at some of the ideas and influences that have shaped modern art across the globe.

A Film Australia National Interest Program in association with Early Works. Produced with the assistance of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Students observe, research and critically discuss a range of contemporary, traditional, stylistic, historical and cultural examples of artworks. They analyse, interpret, compare and evaluate the stylistic, technical, expressive and aesthetic features of art works created by a range of artists and made in particular times and cultural contexts. They use appropriate arts language and, in the arts works they are exploring and responding to, refer to specific examples. They comment on the impact of arts works, forms and practices on other artworks and society in general.

During his lifetime very little was known about William Dobell’s drawings; he considered them to be no one’s concern but his own. They were private aides-memoires to assist with his paintings and it was the paintings that were for public display.

Now, his sketchbooks are an important part of the National Gallery of Australia’s collection, revealing the artistic process of one of Australia’s most renowned painters.

Perhaps more than most painters, Dobell’s art relied on drawing so these sketchbooks are invaluable to our appreciation of his work. They allow us the privilege of seeing the artist’s private thoughts, as unformed ideas gradually taking shape. We can witness him develop an idea from first fleeting sketch to final painting.

Dobell never painted his portraits with the model in his studio. He liked to work alone, from drawings and studies that he made earlier.

In 1929, he won a scholarship that took him to London, where he stayed for ten years. By 1935, the money was nearly gone so he took a cheap basement room with a single bed, which he shared with a professional—but it seems not very successful—burglar. Dobell used the single bed at night while the burglar worked, and the burglar used the bed by day, providing Dobell with a sleeping model.

An examination of Dobell’s preliminary sketches and his finished paintings—such as The Cypriot, The Cat Lover, the iconic The Billy Boy or his Archibald Prize winning portrait of Margaret Olley—reveal a marked difference between the drawings and the final works, and tells us what Dobell wanted from his paintings. The drawing is particular; the painting is general. Dobell dramatises the image—suppressing details in favour of a theatrical pose and a riveting gaze, adding mannerist exaggerations, or turning a personal portrait into a generic type.

1. Betty Churcher states, ‘Dobell wanted a shift to take place from his original drawings to the finished painting’. Dobell said, ‘The drawing is particular, the painting is general’. View several of William Dobell’s drawings and paintings and discuss or write about what he meant by this statement.
2. In 1943, amid a storm of controversy, Dobell won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of fellow artist Joshua Smith. Research the issues around this event. Discuss those involved and their viewpoints. What is your opinion?
3. Dobell investigates personality in his portraiture, both in his style and his use of aesthetics. Compare his portraits to those of another portrait artist. What are the main similarities and differences between the two? If you were going to create a self-portrait what approach would you take? What would it look like?
4. With their permission, take digital photographs of other students. Select one photograph and place a grid over it, or draw the grid directly onto the print. On a larger piece of paper draw an elongated grid with the same amount of shapes as the original grid on the photograph. Transfer the image. This drawing could be produced in any medium of paint, pastels or pencil etc.

B. Adams, Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of William Dobell, Hutchinson, Richmond, 1983

V. Freeman, Dobell on Dobell, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1970

J. Gleeson, The Drawings of William Dobell in the Australian National Gallery, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1992

B. Penton, The Art of William Dobell, Ure Smith, Sydney, 1946

The Archibald Prize

Dobell House… the home and studio of Sir William Dobell

Australian Dictionary of Biography online edition: Sir William Dobell