Robert Dickerson Australian, 1924-2015
Robert Dickerson was a self-taught artist who was part of the Antipodeans. A group of artists who came together in 1959 and stressed the importance of figurative painting over abstract expressionism. Themes of loneliness, vulnerability and isolation are common throughout his work and characters with long noses and averted eyes are motifs that are often revisited.
Dickerson was a child of the Great Depression which in turn forced him to leave school and take up work in a factory when he was only 14. In addition to this, he also picked up boxing as a hobby and turned professional at 16. When he was around 18 he joined the Royal Australian Air Force and spent time in Darwin and South East Asia during the Second World War, where he made drawings in his down time. He turned to painting in 1947 but remained working in menial jobs for many years until his mid thirties, when he finally became a full-time artist. This came about because in 1957 he won 100 pounds for a fridge decorating competition which allowed him to buy more art materials and experiment with different techniques.
Dickerson continued to paint and exhibit regularly for the next five decades before his death in Nowra, on the New South Wales south coast, in 2015
B: Hurstville, Sydney 1924 D: 2015
Solo Exhibitions
1997, 99, 2000, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2012 Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Sydney
2011 Shoalhaven City Regional Gallery
1998, 99, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2011 Stafford Studios, Western Australia
2001, 04, 06, 08, 10 Dickerson Gallery, Melbourne
2009 Recent works, ACGA Gallery at Federation Square
2001, 04, 05, 06 (Pastels, prints and drawings) Dickerson Gallery, Sydney
2002 -04 Chiaroscuro, touring exhibition to Nolan Gallery, Tharwa, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Toowoomba
Regional Art Gallery, Horsham Art Gallery, Grafton Regional Art Gallery, Shoalhaven City Arts Centre 2003 The Complete Graphics Newcastle Region Art Museum, Newcastle, NSW
1996, 2002, 03 Kensington Gallery, Adelaide
1976, 77, 92, 96, 99, 2000, 02 Philip Bacon, Brisbane
1985, 89, 91, 98, 2001 Art Gallery Schubert, Queensland
2000 Rex Irwin Art Dealer, Melbourne Art Fair
1986, 1998, 2000 Greythorn Gallery, Victoria
1994 Kenthurst Gallery, NSW
1993 Caulfield Arts Complex (with Andrew Ivanyi) Bell Gallery, Berrima, NSW
1992 Noosa Regional Gallery
Gallery 406, Gosford, NSW
1991 England & Co Gallery, London
1987 Greenhill Gallery, Perth
Melbourne Art Exchange
1984 Holdsworth Gallery (Tokyo Show)
1983 Masterpiece Gallery, Hobart
Anvil Gallery, Wodonga, Victoria
1981 Forbes Town Hall, NSW
Georges Gallery, Melbourne
1980 Avenel Bee Gallery, Adelaide
1979 Adelaide Fine Arts & Graphics
1977 De Keopelkirker, Amsterdam
1976 Graphics Gallery, Manuka ACT
1974, 83, 87 Greenhill Gallery, Adelaide
Grand Central Gallery, Brisbane
1973, 76 Andrew Ivanyi Gallery, Melbourne
1973 Qantas Gallery, London
1973, 75, 78, 83, 86, 88, 90, 93, 95 Holdsworth Gallery, Sydney
1972, 74, 77 Lister Gallery, Perth
1972 Bakehouse Gallery, Mackay
John Cooper Gallery, Queensland
1970 John Gild Gallery, Perth
Adelaide Festival Exhibition
Leveson Street Gallery, Melbourne
1968 Australian Galleries, Melbourne
Hungry Horse Gallery, Sydney
1964, 65 Kym Bonython Gallery, Brisbane
1964, 67, 69, 71, 73 Johnstone Gallery, Brisbane
1962, 66, 67, 70, 82 Von Bertouch Gallery, Newcastle
1962, 63 Clune Gallery, Sydney
1962, 69, 81 Barry Stern Gallery, Sydney
1960, 61 Rudy Komon Gallery, Sydney
1959, 67 Farmers Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
1956, 58 Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Awards & Prizes
2002 Artist in Residence, Moonee Valley Race Club VIC
1990 DDB Needham Inaugural Art Prize
1975 Gold Coast Art Prize
1966 Mirror-Waratah (shared Grand Prize)
1965 RAS Easter Show, Human Image Prize
1959 Tumut Prize
1958 Blake Prize (second place)
1954 Clint Prize
Collections
Works in most regional gallery collections and important corporate collections in Australia including: National Gallery of Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales
National Gallery of Victoria
Queensland Art Gallery
Art Gallery of South Australia
Art Gallery of Western Australia
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery
Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne
Newcastle Region Art Museum
Australian National University
University of Melbourne
University of Western Australia
University of Sydney
Artbank
2002 Powell, L.; "Robert Dickerson - The Complete Graphics" Queen Street Fine Art, Sydney
1995 Dickerson, J.; "Robert Dickerson - Against the Tide"; Pandanus Press (reprinted 2004, Publisher: Queen Street Fine Art)
1995 Heathcote, Christopher; "A Quiet Revolution - The rise of Australian Art, 1946-1968"; Text Publishing Company; Melbourne
1973 Burton, B. &Splatt, W.; "100 Masterpieces of Australian Painting"; Rigby Catalano, G.; "The Years of Hope, Australian Art and Criticism 1959-1968"; OUP
1978 "City Art"; Heinemann Educational Australia Pty Ltd
1971 Gleeson, J.; "Modern Painters 1931-70"; Lansdowne Press
1981 Haese, R.; "Rebels and Precursors: The Revolutionary Years of Australian Art"; Allen Lane Ringwood 1970 Hughes, R.; "The Art of Australia"; Penguin; Hammondsworth
1958 Luck, R.K.; "A Guide to Modern Australian Paintings"; Sun Books; Melbourne
1958 "Modern Australian Art"; Museum of Modern Art; Melbourne
1974 Smith, B.; "Australian Painting 1799 - 1970"; Oxford University Press
1976 Thomas, L.; "The Most Noble Art of Them All"; University of Queensland Press
1971 "Two Hundred Years of Australian Painting"; Bay Books; Sydney