Brought to Light Australian Art 1850-1965

Substance and Spirit T ■ n 1942 a visit by Daphne Mayo to I William Dobell's Kings Cross studio J L resulted in the acquisition of The Cypriot for the Queensland National Art Gallery's Collection. Just two years after its completion Mayo had purchased Dobell's largest and most ambitious work — the subject of many preliminary studies over several years in London and the 'tour de force' that Dobell had been determined to paint upon his return to Australia. Dobell was in Europe for ten years, initially on a Society of Artists Travelling Scholarship. Learning his trade, experiencing the works of the great painters and slowly developing his own style, he would come back to Sydney with an expansive armory of skills and experiences. Most of his works in London were small- scale; many were sketches and studies that he intended to develop into finished oil paintings upon his return. The London experience was financially lean for Dobell but it allowed him to live a lifestyle that suited him, to paint subjects that interested him, and to mature personally and artistically. He was less burdened with the expectations of others and could more easily experience life and advance his art. But in the end, his intention was always to bring his skills home and there to produce works that were the culmination of his development as an artist. The 1930s in London saw Dobell working on preliminary studies for three major portraits: The Irish youth, Boy lounging and The Cypriot. The first studies for The Cypriot and The Irish youth appeared as early as 1934 and 1935, and Dobell's friend Aegus Gabrielides sat many times for studies for The Cypriot during the following four years. Whereas earlier studies for The Cypriot reflect Dobell's local environment at the Slade School and Easton Road Group, those for The Irish youth show an awareness of the work of European painters such as the expressionists Chaim Soutine and Oskar TWO VIEWS OF DOBELL 161