William Alexander Dargie CBE (1912 - 2003)

Born 4 Jun 1912 in Footscray, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Died 26 Jul 2003 at age 91 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Biography

William Dargie CBE is Notable.

William Alexander Dargie was born on 4 June 1912 in Footscray, Victoria, the first son of Andrew Dargie and Adelaide (née Sargent).^[1]

William married Kathleen Howitt in 1937 in Victoria, Australia.^[2] They had two children.^[3]

In 1941, aged 29, he was nominated as an official war artist. In that same year he won his first Archibald with a portrait of Sir James Elder.^[3] He received notification of this win while digging trenches while on active service at Tobruk. He would go on to contribute more than 600 works to the Australian War Memorial.

William was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), upgraded to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1969, and created Knight Bachelor in 1970; providing both pre-nominal and post-nominal letters to his name. ^[3]

Sir William died in Melbourne on 26 July 2003, aged 91.^[3]

Archibald Prize

Dargie won the Archibald Prize more times than any other artist. His winning portraits are:

1. 1941 - Sir James Elder^[4]
2. 1942 - Corporal Jim Gordon, VC [1]
3. 1945 - Lt-General The Hon Edmund Herring [2]
4. 1946 - L C Robson [3]
5. 1947 - Sir Marcus Clark [4]
6. 1950 - Sir Leslie McConnan [5]
7. 1952 - Mr Essington Lewis [6]
8. 1956 - Mr Albert Namatjira [7]

Honours

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), 1 January 1960,
  
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), 1 January 1969,
  
• Knight Bachelor, 13 June 1970,
  

Sources

1. ↑ Victorian birth registration index: DARGIE Wm Alexr; event Birth; mother Adelaide Mary SARGENT; father Andw; place of birth FOOTSCRAY; year of birth 1912; registration number 20379/1912
2. ↑ Victorian marriage registration index: DARGIE Wm Alex; event Marriage; spouse HOWITT, K'leen; year registered 1937; registration number 2226/1937
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Obituary: "A Queen's man, in the best tradition". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 July 2003.
4. ↑ Mackenzie, Andrew. "William Dargie Sir James Elder, K.B.E., 1941." In the Artist's Footsteps, medialaunch Pty. Ltd., http://www.artistsfootsteps.com/html/Dargie_sirjameselder.htm .

• Wikipedia: William Dargie

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123864699/william-alexander-dargiee : accessed 29 May 2021), memorial page for Sir William Alexander Dargie (4 Jun 1912–26 Jul 2003), Find a Grave Memorial ID 123864699, citing Box Hill Cemetery, Box Hill, Whitehorse City, Victoria, Australia ; Maintained by III (contributor 47426837) .

• Inscription 9786705 - William Alexander Dargie from the Australian Cemeteries Index. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://austcemindex.com/inscription?id=9786705 (no gravestone photograph)

• 4 Jun 1912 - 26 Jul 2003 The headstone of Sir William Alexander Dargie C.B.E.. Cemetery: Box Hill Cemetery, Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Birth: 4 Jun 1912, Death: 26 Jul 2003. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://billiongraves.com/supporting-record/Sir-William-Alexander-Dargie/103285427

• Grave record for Sir William A Dargie CBE (Died: 26 Jul 2003), Billion Graves Record 7894437 Melbourne, Greater Dandenong City, Victoria, Australia. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://billiongraves.com/grave/William-A-Dargie/7894437

Further Reading

• Captain William Dargie from the AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL website. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P65046

• Faigan, Julian & Art Exhibitions Australia Limited & Faigan, Julian (1992). Uncommon Australians : towards an Australian portrait gallery. Art Exhibitions Australia, The Rocks, N.S.W.

• Arnold, John, & Morris, Deirdre, (1994). Monash biographical dictionary of 20th century Australia. page: 140, Reed Reference Publishing, Port Melbourne, Vic. Australia.

• WILLIAM DARGIE 1912 – 2003 from the NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY website. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.portrait.gov.au/people/william-dargie-1912

• Queen Elizabeth II wattle painting from the The National Museum of Australia website. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/collection/highlights/queen-elizabeth-ii-wattle-painting

• ARCHIBALD PRIZE PORTRAIT from The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954) of Saturday 17 January 1942, Page 14. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/17784147?

• The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954) of Sunday 24 January 1943, Page 1. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/247853127?

• Portrait Awarded Archibald Prize from the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954) of Saturday 19 January 1946. Page 1. first accessed online on the 29th of May, 2021 at: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/140607021?