William Alexander Dargie Australia, 1912-2003
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About William Dargie
Born in Melbourne, Dargie studied at the Melbourne Technical College, and then in the studio of Archibald Colquhoun from 1931 to 1934 and Napier Waller. As an official war artist during World War II, he painted more than five hundred works rthat now hang in the Australian War Memorial. He was the winner of the Archibald Prize eight times. In 1946 Dargie was appointed master of the National Gallery Schools. He painted many landscapes and still-life pictures, but is mainly known as a painter, and his numerous subjects include Queen Elizabeth II, and the Duke of Edinburgh. Dargie won the Archibald Prize on eight occasions. The National Portrait Galley currently holds 27 portraits by Dargie.
William Dargie is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1967 of 427, of which 350 (82%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $144,000 for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second 1954 sold by Bonhams & Goodman in May 2009. This year 7 works have been offered for sale. Works by William Dargie are held by the Australian War Memorial, National Portrait Gallery and a further seven major public national galleries (see list below).
William Dargie is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 366
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 160
- Campbell, Jean. Australian Watercolour Painters: 1780 to the Present Day. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1989. Page 301
- The Find New Zealand Artists web site: a database of artist names that directs researchers to the rich resources found in New Zealand's libraries, art society exhibition histories and published sources.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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