DUNDAS, DOUGLAS (1900-1981)

"Flowerpiece" (1933) 
oil on board
42 x 37cm
signed lower left
*private collection, Melbourne
 
Dundas was an important Australian Modernist. He trained at the Sydney Art School with Julian Ashton. In 1927, he won the Society of Artists’ Travelling Scholarship, which enabled him to study at the London Polytechnic and in Paris with André Lhote. Returning to Australia in 1929, he held his first show at Macquarie Galleries. Two years later, he began to teach full-time at the East Sydney Technical College (later the National Art School). He was the head teacher of painting from 1938 to 1960, and head of the school until 1965. Married to the painter Dorothy Thornhill, Dundas is particularly known for his views of the streets of inner Sydney – Paddington, Darlinghurst, Rose Bay - rendered in a Modernist style. He also painted the Canberra landscape, and a number of self-portraits. Dundas, alongside his wife Dorothy, were major, vocal supporters of Sir William Dobell during his infamous court case in 1944, questioning the authenticity of his Archibald Prize win. His work is represented in all major National Galleries in Australia!!