William Dobson

Life

Family and early years

Dobson was born in London, the son of William Dobson, who was possibly a lawyer, and was baptised at St Andrew's Holborn. He was first apprenticed to the English printseller and painter William Peake, before becoming a student in the studio of the German-born painter and tapestry maker Francis Cleyn. There is a claim that his father was a decorative artist, but this may be a misreading of the single known quote about Dobson Sr, by the antiquarian John Aubrey, which states that William senior assisted Francis Bacon with the designs of Verulam House but "he spending his estate upon women, necessity forced his son ... to be the most excellent painter that England hath yet bred".

Dobson is believed to have had access to the Royal Collection and to have copied works by Titian and Anthony van Dyck, the court painter of King Charles I of England. The colour and texture of Dobson's work was influenced by Venetian painting, but van Dyck's style had little apparent influence on Dobson. The story that van Dyck himself discovered Dobson when he noticed one of the young artist's pictures in a London shop window is not supported by any evidence, nor do we know how he gained his introduction to the King, who had Dobson paint himself, his sons and members of the court.

Artistic career

Little is known of Dobson's career in the 1630s, but when van Dyck died in 1641, the opportunity arose for him to gain royal commissions from King Charles. He is said to have become serjeant painter to the King and groom of the privy chamber. However, this claim comes from only one old and as yet unverified source. During the English Civil War Dobson was based at the Royalist centre of Oxford and painted many leading Cavaliers. His portrait of the future Charles II as Prince of Wales at the age of around twelve is a notable baroque composition, and perhaps his finest work. He also painted at least the head of Duke of York, as well as portraits of leading Royalists such as Charles Lucas and John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, Prince Rupert of the Rhine and Prince Maurice.

Personal life

Dobson was married twice, first to Elizabeth, whose surname is unknown, as is the date of their marriage. She was buried in St Martin-in-the-Fields on 26 September 1634. On 18 December 1637 he married Judith Sander, who survived him.

Final years

In London, Dobson spent a period of time in prison for debt. Following his death he was buried at St Martin in the Fields on 28 October 1646.

Works

Dobson is associated with 51 paintings, mostly half-length portraits dating from 1642 or later. The thick impasto of his early work gave way to a mere skim of paint, perhaps reflecting a wartime scarcity of materials. After Oxford fell to the Parliamentarians, in June 1646, Dobson returned to London. Now without patronage, he was briefly imprisoned for debt and died in poverty at the age of thirty-five.

Ellis Waterhouse described Dobson as "the most distinguished purely British painter before Hogarth", and in the view of Waldemar Januszczak he was "the first British born genius, the first truly dazzling English painter".

There are examples of Dobson's work at the National Gallery, the National Gallery of Scotland, Tate Britain, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Maritime Museum, Queen's House in Greenwich, the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull, the Courtauld Institute of Art, the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London, in several English country houses including notably Alnwick Castle where Dobson's self-portrait with Nicholas Lanier and Charles Cotterell is displayed, at the Yale Center for British Art in New Haven, CT, USA, and at the Dunedin Public Art Gallery in New Zealand.

The 2011 anniversary of his birth was marked by exhibitions, a 'Dobson Trail' listing his paintings on a website, and a BBC television profile by Januszczak, The Lost Genius of British Art: William Dobson.

Gallery

File:William Dobson - Charles II, 1630 - 1685. King of Scots 1649 - 1685. King of England and Ireland 1660 - 1685 (When Prince of Wales, with a page) - Google Art Project.jpg|alt=xxx|Charles II, 16301685. King of Scots 16491685. King of England and Ireland 16601685 (When Prince of Wales, with a page) (), Scottish National Portrait Gallery File:William Dobson - Portrait of Abraham van der Doort - WGA6362.jpg|alt=xxx|Portrait of Abraham van der Doort (late 1630s), Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg File:Richard Neville by William Dobson.jpg|alt=xxx|Richard Neville (undated), National Portrait Gallery File:William Dobson - Portrait of a Family, Probably that of Richard Streatfeild - Google Art Project.jpg|alt=xxx|Portrait of a Family, Probably that of Richard Streatfeild (), Yale Center for British Art File:Sir Richard Fanshawe (1608–1666), 1st Bt.jpeg|alt=xxx|Portrait of diplomat and author Sir Richard Fanshawe (1644), Valence House Museum, Dagenham, UK

References

Sources

References

1. "William Dobson 1611–1646".
2. "William Dobson 1611-46: Past display archive 17 August 2011 - 18 March 2012". National Portrait Gallery.
3. Waldemar Januszczak. (Summer 2016). "The Full English". Bonhams Magazine.
4. "William Dobson Portrait of the Artist's Wife c.1635–40". Tate Gallery.
5. (2004). "William Dobson". [[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]].
6. "William Dobson (1611-1646), Portrait painter". [[National Portrait Gallery, London.
7. E. K. Waterhouse, ''Painting in Britain 1530–1790'', 5th edn, New Haven and London 1994, p.80, quoted in [http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ViewWork?cgroupid=999999961&workid=20523&searchid=10649&roomid=false&tabview=text&texttype=10 United Kingdom Tate Gallery — William Dobson 1611–1646, ''Portrait of the Artist's Wife'' circa 1635–1640].
8. Waldemar Januszczak in part three of his BBC documentary series, [[Baroque! From St Peter's to St Paul's]]; and 'The first great British painter?' in Tate, 17, Spring 1999, p.62.