Sir William Alexander Dargie (1912 – 2003) was an Australian painter, known especially for his portrait paintings. He holds the record for the most Archibald Prize wins; eight. He was an official Australian War Artist during World War II.
During World War II he served with the Australian Army in the Middle East, New Guinea, India and Burma rising to the rank of Captain. He was digging a trench in Tobruk, Libya, when he was informed that he had won the Archibald Prize in 1942. More than 500 of his paintings, drawings and sketches are in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
In December 1954 he was commissioned by Melbourne industrialist James P. Beveridge to paint Australia's official portrait of Queen Elizabeth, who posed for him at Buckingham Palace. This was the first of two portraits he created. The second, a replica of the first, was painted as 'insurance' in case the first was lost in transit to Australia. The original hangs in Australia's Parliament House, while the replica is displayed in the National Museum of Australia. The 'wattle painting', as it became known, was well received by the Australian public and became one of the most recognisable and treasured examples of 20th-century Australian portraiture.
For many postwar immigrants this portrait was their first encounter with an artwork by an Australian artist as it was reproduced on Australian naturalisation papers from the mid-1950s. Under the terms of the 1954 Australian Citizenship Convention, a print of the work was generally present in local town halls where many naturalisation ceremonies took place.
Dargie painted the Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, as well as official portraits of two Australian Prime Ministers. Other famous Australians who sat for him included such names as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Margaret Court. Other commissions included General John Baker, Chief of the Australian Defence Force.
He held positions on several gallery boards, serving on the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board for twenty years. Between 1946 and 1953 he was head of the Victorian Art School at the National Gallery of Victoria. While he is best known for his portraits, he also painted other works, such as smaller interior views, landscapes and still lifes.
During World War II he served with the Australian Army in the Middle East, New Guinea, India and Burma rising to the rank of Captain. He was digging a trench in Tobruk, Libya, when he was informed that he had won the Archibald Prize in 1942. More than 500 of his paintings, drawings and sketches are in the collection of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.
In December 1954 he was commissioned by Melbourne industrialist James P. Beveridge to paint Australia's official portrait of Queen Elizabeth, who posed for him at Buckingham Palace. This was the first of two portraits he created. The second, a replica of the first, was painted as 'insurance' in case the first was lost in transit to Australia. The original hangs in Australia's Parliament House, while the replica is displayed in the National Museum of Australia. The 'wattle painting', as it became known, was well received by the Australian public and became one of the most recognisable and treasured examples of 20th-century Australian portraiture.
For many postwar immigrants this portrait was their first encounter with an artwork by an Australian artist as it was reproduced on Australian naturalisation papers from the mid-1950s. Under the terms of the 1954 Australian Citizenship Convention, a print of the work was generally present in local town halls where many naturalisation ceremonies took place.
Dargie painted the Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, as well as official portraits of two Australian Prime Ministers. Other famous Australians who sat for him included such names as Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Margaret Court. Other commissions included General John Baker, Chief of the Australian Defence Force.
He held positions on several gallery boards, serving on the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board for twenty years. Between 1946 and 1953 he was head of the Victorian Art School at the National Gallery of Victoria. While he is best known for his portraits, he also painted other works, such as smaller interior views, landscapes and still lifes.
Sir William Dargie |
1935, Draped Mask and Still Life |
1935, Portrait of Jean |
1941, The Officers Club, Cairo |
1942, Corporal Jim Gordon |
1943, Portrait of General MacArthur |
1944, Walter Reginald Hume |
1946, L C Robson, MC |
1947, Stretcher bearers in the Owen Stanleys |
1950, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second |
1951, Battle of the Hinge, Korea |
1955, Dame Mabel Brookes |
1955, Landscape (Study) |
1955, Mr Albert Namatjira |
1958, Mr Albert Namatjira |
1960, Portrait study of Sir Robert Menzies |
1960-61, Sir Macfarlane Burnet |
1961, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith and Captain Charles Ulm |
1962, Margaret Court |
1962, Study for a portrait of Mr. Hal Porter |
1963, David Alexander Stewart Campbell |
1965, Sir Cecil Colville |
1970, Sir Edgar Coles |
1971, Sir Arthur Coles |
1972, The Mask of Barry Humphries |
1979, Sir Kenneth Coles |
1980, Portrait Study of John Gandel |
1989, Sir James Balderstone |
1993, Sir Arvi Parbo |
2001, Professor Peter Doherty |
City Skyline |
Country Washing Day |
Diana |
Enos and His Dreamtime (Killing the Snake by The Great Wall of China, Near Glen Helen) |
Evening Glow, West Kilmore |
George Ellis, Consultant Anaesthetist at St Bartholomew's Hospital |
George Foletta |
Jetty at Tooradin |
Lady Trout |
Mount Dandenong Summit, at Olinda |
Ockley Green |
Picking Blackberries |
Portrait of Bertrand Waterhouse |
Portrait of Oswald Burt |
Portrait of Young Artist: Reg Cordia |
Sheep Shearing Brancepeth |
Sketch for the Princess Marina |
Springvale, Central Otago |
Still Life with Melons |
Still Life – Mixed Flowers in a Pottery Vase on the Kitchen Table |
Summer Near Benalla |
The Duck Shooters |
The Musicians |
The Woodcutters |
Twilight Mentone |
Young Lovers in the Rain |
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