William Dobell: career timeline
Australian · 1899–1970 · Works grouped by the decade they were made (the cataloged date, or a date in the signature or title), not by sale date. 100 of 173 lots (58% of works) have a usable creation date; the others are listed at the end by the decade they were sold. Each work is shown once, even when it sold more than once.
| Decade made | Works | Sold | Median sold price | Main medium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 28 | 25 | $18.4kSign up | Oil |
| 1940s | 22 | 22 | $16.9kSign up | Oil |
| 1950s | 23 | 22 | $15.7kSign up | Oil |
| 1960s | 18 | 14 | $30.7kSign up | Oil |
| 1970s | 1 | 0 | — | Oil |
Where does mine fit?
Enter what you know about a work by William Dobell to see the closest recorded works from the same period, with their auction results. These are past records only, not a valuation: condition, authenticity, provenance and the market all change what a work brings. For an auction estimate of your work, get a free auction estimate.
1930s 28 works
- Sold
- 25 of 28
- Median
- $18.4kSign up
- Average
- $83.8kSign up
- Typical size
- 9 × 8.5 in (22 × 21 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (17), Drawing (9), Watercolor (2)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (5)
c. 1930 An Important Mid 1930s London Sketch Pad$4.1kSign up
c. 1930 An important Mid 1930s London Sketch Book$13kSign up
c. 1930 Study of an Unknown Woman, London Period$1.3kSign up
c. 1930 The Burglar$212Sign up
c. 1930 Pension Bruges, Belgium$7.4kSign up
1931 Woman with Sparrows 1931$27.6kSign up
1932 London$911Sign up
1933 Oxen$862Sign up
1933 Odette 1933$2.6kSign up · sold 2×
1933 Watching Hyde Park Speakers (1933)$47.7kSign up
1934 Woman in Restaurant (1934)$671kSign up
1935 The Fortune Teller (1935)$220kSign up
Show 12 more (1930s)
1935 At the Playground (circa 1935)$5.4kSign up
1936 Drunken Bridesmaids (1936)$18.4kSign up · sold 2×
1936 Festival (circa 1936)$22.8kSign up
1936 Woman at a Window (circa 1936)$52.7kSign up
1936 Temporary Bridge over Thames 1936$25.6kSign up
1936 The Charlady (1936)$66.9kSign up
1936 Temporary Bridge over Thames (1936)Unsold
1936 The Dead Landlord (1936)$825kSign up
1936 Temporary Bridge over Thames (1936)$20.6kSign up
1936 A collection of six notebooks, sketchbooks and newspaper clippings c1936Unsold
1937 The Chamber Maid (1937)Unsold
1937 Study for Boy Lounging (1937)$32kSign up
…and 4 more works from this group in the full results list.
1940s 22 works
- Sold
- 22 of 22
- Median
- $16.9kSign up
- Average
- $55.6kSign up
- Typical size
- 9.5 × 9 in (24 × 23 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (13), Drawing (6), Gouache (2)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (5), Rivers & marshes (2), Flowers & still life (1)
1940 Kings Cross c1940$19.2kSign up
1940 Still Life (1940)$75.2kSign up
1940 MISS DOROTHY HELMRICH (1940)$32.3kSign up
1940 Study for a Portrait of Jacqueline Crookston c1940$810Sign up
1940 Dog Study II c1940$756Sign up
1940 Dog Study I c1940$756Sign up
c. 1941 Army Recruits Training and Builders c.$505Sign up
1942 Mother and Child (circa 1942)$57.1kSign up
1943 An Original Sketch for the 1943 Archibald Prize Winning Portrait of 'Mr Joshua Smith$3.5kSign up
1943 Man with Guitar$4.7kSign up
1944 The Smoko (circa 1944)$319kSign up
1944 Portion of Study for Mural 1944$7.3kSign up
Show 10 more (1940s)
1945 Study for Portrait of Professor L. F. Giblin 1945$41.1kSign up
1945 Sydney from Farm Cove (1945)$9.9kSign up
1947 Lake View, Wangi 1947$8.8kSign up
1947 The Berry Pickers (1947)$52.2kSign up
1948 Study for Suzanne and Goldfish 1948$14.6kSign up
1948 Study for Margaret Olley (1948)$203kSign up
1948 Storm Approaching, Wangi 1948$303kSign up
1948 Study for Westerly Breeze 1948$31.5kSign up
c. 1949 Creek at Lake Macquarie$10.5kSign up
1949 Portrait of Robert Menzies 1949$26.4kSign up
1950s 23 works
- Sold
- 22 of 23
- Median
- $15.7kSign up
- Average
- $31.9kSign up
- Typical size
- 9 × 11 in (23 × 28 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (20), Gouache (2), Drawing (1)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (4), Landscapes (2), Beach scenes (2)
1950 Road to Banz (New Guinea) c1950$20.5kSign up
c. 1950 Sketch Book$1.3kSign up
c. 1950 Grumia [?], Government House, Moresby, Russell Islander$779Sign up
c. 1950 Seated Native Woman, New Guinea$5.8kSign up
1950 Goldie (1950)$9kSign up
1950 Untitled (Thatchers, New Guinea) c1950$7kSign up
1951 Lady Lloyd Jones (1951)$73.3kSign up · sold 2×
1951 Koki Bay c1951$20.2kSign up
1951 The Highlands, New Guinea 1951$13.1kSign up
1951 Three Girls Carrying Leaves (circa 1951)$22.8kSign up
1952 Portrait of W.S. Robinson 1952$40.5kSign up
c. 1952 Crossing a Torrent$1.3kSign up
Show 11 more (1950s)
1952 Hedley R. Marston, F.R.S. (1952)$90.8kSign up
1952 Angoram on the Sepik River (1952)$52.9kSign up
1952 Wahgi Valley, Hunter (1952)$5.9kSign up
1953 Wahgi Girl 1953$6.4kSign up
1955 Koki Beach, New Guinea 1955Unsold
c. 1956 Christmas Card - Wangi Wangi$628Sign up
1956 The Narrows Beach 1956$220kSign up
c. 1957 Study for Camille Gheysens$353Sign up
1957 Study for Camille Gheysens (1957)$18.3kSign up · sold 2×
1959 Portrait of Sir Leon Trout c1959$37.4kSign up
1959 Spring at Wangi (1959)$52.3kSign up
1960s 18 works
- Sold
- 14 of 18
- Median
- $30.7kSign up
- Average
- $88.7kSign up
- Typical size
- 12 × 13 in (30 × 33 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (16), Gouache (2)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (6), Harbours & ports (2), Beach scenes (2)
1960 Self Portrait (circa 1960)$39.8kSign up
1960 Colour Abstract (Scene on the Harbour) 1960$29.4kSign up
1960 The Spotted Dog (1960)$32kSign up
1960 Colour Abstract (Scene on the Harbour) 1960Unsold · sold 2×
1960 Woman in a Salon (Helena Rubinstein) 1960$333kSign up
1960 Boats in a Landscape (Scene at Wangi - Boats at High Wind) c1960$16.4kSign up
1961 Bondi Beach c1961$32.5kSign up
1963 Helena Rubinstein (1963)$571kSign up
1963 Leslie J. Thompson 1963$74.8kSign up
1964 Study for Portrait of Ngo Dinh Diem 1964$24.8kSign up
1964 Peasant Ferry, Saigon 1964Unsold
1964 Trapping the Flying Fox, New Guinea 1964Unsold
Show 6 more (1960s)
1965 Self Portrait c1965$17.1kSign up
1966 Study for Woman at the Trash Bin c1966Unsold
1966 Wangi Worker (Tom McCall) 1966$33.5kSign up
c. 1967 Bathers$1.1kSign up
1967 Study for The Matriarch c1967$27.1kSign up · sold 4×
1969 Head Study for 'Tired Lady' (1969)$9.4kSign up
1970s 1 work
- Sold
- 0 of 1
- Median
- —
- Average
- —
- Typical size
- 6 × 10 in (16 × 25 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (1)
- Subjects
- —
1970 The Gossip 1970Unsold
Creation date not recorded
67 works have no cataloged or signed date. They are grouped here by the decade they were last sold, which says nothing about when they were made.
Undated, sold in the 2000s 3 works
- Sold
- 2 of 3
- Median
- $3.8kSign up
- Average
- $3.8kSign up
- Typical size
- 5 × 7 in (13 × 18 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (2), Drawing (1)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (1), Palms (1)
sold 2009 Sketch for Helena Rubenstein Portrait$1.7kSign up
sold 2009 Under the Palm Trees Mt. Hagen, New Guinea$5.9kSign up
sold 2009 Study for CarnivalUnsold
Undated, sold in the 2010s 19 works
- Sold
- 16 of 19
- Median
- $8.3kSign up
- Average
- $11.4kSign up
- Typical size
- 6 × 7.5 in (15 × 20 cm)
- Mediums
- Oil (10), Watercolor (4), Drawing (3)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (6), Landscapes (2), Beach scenes (1)
sold 2010 Native EncampmentUnsold
sold 2010 Study of a Young Girl$9.3kSign up
sold 2011 Untitled$4.6kSign up
sold 2012 Wangi Scene$4.1kSign up
sold 2012 Sketch for Wangi Beach$3.8kSign up
sold 2012 The Country House$10.8kSign up
Show 6 more (2010s)
sold 2013 Portrait Sketches$562Sign up
sold 2013 The Sex Kitten (Kitten on a Balcony)$38.9kSign up
sold 2013 SKETCH FOR WOODCARTER$10.4kSign up
sold 2013 Sketch for Helena Rubenstein Portrait$1.2kSign up
sold 2015 The Butcher BoyUnsold
sold 2015 Wangi$649Sign up
…and 7 more works from this group in the full results list.
Undated, sold in the 2020s 45 works
- Sold
- 37 of 45
- Median
- $754Sign up
- Average
- $1.8kSign up
- Typical size
- 7.5 × 8.5 in (19 × 22 cm)
- Mediums
- Drawing (14), Gouache (12), Oil (11)
- Subjects
- Figures & portraits (10), Landscapes (4), Cattle & animals (1)
sold 2020 Self Portrait$393Sign up
sold 2020 New Guinea Mountain Sketch$1.4kSign up
sold 2021 (3)Unsold
sold 2021 Mountains & Sun, likely New Guinea$3.9kSign up
sold 2021 Resting Horse$1.3kSign up
sold 2022 Man in a T-shirtUnsold
Show 6 more (2020s)
sold 2022 Portrait of Joanna M. Booth$5.2kSign up · sold 2×
sold 2022 (2)$777Sign up
sold 2022 Self-Portrait and Study for Sex Kitten$8.3kSign up
sold 2023 Nude under Lamplight$14.6kSign up
sold 2023 (7)$767Sign up · sold 2×
sold 2023 (6)$1.2kSign up · sold 2×
…and 33 more works from this group in the full results list.
Medians and averages count sold works only (each work's most recent sale), in US dollars at the sale-date rate. Works cataloged as “attributed to”, “circle of” or similar are left out. All William Dobell auction results →