Sir William Dargie
Kt.cr 1970, C.B.E. 1969, h.c.M.A., F.R.S.A. (London), F.R.A.S. (N.S.W.)

William Alexander Dargie was born on 4 June 1912 in Footscray, Victoria.

He was the first born son, and first of the two children, of Andrew Dargie, who worked in the timber industry and schoolteacher, Adelaide Mary, nee Sargent.

He completed some of his schooling at Footscray ‘Tec’ (now the Footscray Institute of Technology). It is here the young William Dargie took his first art lesson. His teacher was Mr C.F. Mundie, the Institute’s first Art Master.

On finishing his schooling, Dargie followed in his mother’s footsteps and enrolled in a Teacher Training course, which he successfully completed.

One of his first postings was the North Williamstown State School, where he met Hal Porter, who was to become one of his close friends. Dargie recalls that, ‘we taught all the topics. I taught top grade, and Hal Porter taught the next one down.’

Dargie soon became a member of the Victorian Artists’ Society. He was referred to the Society by Louis McCubbin, and from 1934 he regularly exhibited with the Society. Later Dargie was to be made a Life Member of the Victorian Artists’ Society and Honorary Fellow, and in 1990 received their Honor medal.

In 1941 Dargie and fellow artist, Murray Griffin enlisted in World War II.

However Dargie remembers

“we were dragged out very smartly and appointed as war artists.” Dargie was appointed an official war artist during World War II, with A.I.F. (Captain), R.A.A.F. and R.A.N. in the Middle East and New Guinea, India, and Burma, and produced many works depicting military action in Crete, Milne Bay and the Owen Stanleys.

While digging a trench in Tobruk, Dargie was informed that he had won the Archibald Prize for 1941, with his portrait of Sir James Elder K.B.E. This was the first of his eight Archibald prize-winning portraits, and Dargie was still but a young man of twenty-nine.

The second of his Archibald Prize winnings was in 1943, with his portrait of Corporal Jim Gordon V.C. Dargie had painted Gordon’s portrait after he had been awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry as an infantry private in Syria. It was a portrait that was well received by the public as typifying the Australian soldier.

His portrait of Lieutenant-General Sir Edmund Herring K.C.M.G., K.B.E., D.S.O., M.C., K.St.J., E.D won his third Archibald Prize in 1945.
The year after he was awarded his forth Archibald Prize with his portrait of L.C. Robson M.C., M.A. Headmaster of North Sydney Grammar School.

In 1947 once again Dargie was notified that he had won the Archibald Prize for his portrait of Sir Marcus Clark K.B.E.

Dargie’s sixth Archibald Prize won in 1950 was for his portrait of Sir Leslie McConnan.

Dargie won the Archibald Prize for 1952, with his portrait of Mr Essington Lewis C.H. This was Dargie’s seventh Archibald prize-winning work. A newspaper article in The Age on 25 February 1953, titled ‘Melbourne Artist to Advise Govt.’ reported that, ‘Mr W.A. Dargie had been appointed to the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board.’ Dargie was appointed a Member, Commonwealth Art Advisory Board (1953 – 1975), and was Chairman, Commonwealth Art Advisory Board (1969 – 1973).

The Yorick Art Prize began in 1953, and Dargie was later a judge of this competition.

Late in the year, Dargie travelled to London.

He remembers painting the portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace in December 1954. During 1954, Dargie also painted the portrait of the Very Rev. Jeremiah Murphy S.J.

One of the highlights of 1963 for Dargie was the winning of the worldwide portrait painting competition held by Lancôme. One of other portrait painters who entered this competition was Pietro Annigoni. When it was announced that Dargie had won, reporters besieged Dargie wanting to know, who the model was in his painting, but Dargie would not say. Dargie wanted to protect the model from the media, for the model was actually his daughter Faye, who was around the age of fifteen at the time she modeled for the portrait.

In 1976 Dargie designed a  (9 inches in diameter), portraying ‘the Queen in her 50th year and the Queen Mother in her 75th’ for the Archive College of Australia.

On 8 April 1994, Dargie’s portrait of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, painted in 1954, was featured by Australia Post on a 45cent stamp and one of Dargie’s illustrations was used for the cover for the menu for the Centenary Dinner of the Melbourne Savage Club, held in the Great Hall, National Gallery of Victoria.

Sir William Dargie passed away 26 July 2003.

By Andrew Mackenzie, courtesy of www.artistsfootsteps.com