William Dobson

William Dobson (4 March 1611 (baptised); 28 October 1646 (buried)) was an English painter who specialised in portrait painting. One of the first significant English painters, he was praised by his contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent painter that England has yet bred". The art critic Waldemar Januszczak describes him as the first British born painter of genius. After Dobson's first apprenticeship he joined the studio of the German-born artists Francis Cleyn. It is possible Dobson had access to the Royal Collection and copied works by Titian and Anthony van Dyck. Little is known of Dobson's career in the 1630s. After van Dyck’s death in 1641, Dobson was able to gain royal commissions from Charles I of England. One unverified source claimed that he become serjeant painter to Charles, and Groom of the Chamber. It is not known how he gained an introduction to the king. Dobson's final years were disrupted by the English Civil War, which forced him to be based with the royal court at Oxford. There he painted leading cavaliers such as Charles Lucas, John Byron, 1st Baron Byron, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, and Maurice, Prince Palatine of the Rhine. Most of his surviving works are half-length portraits that date from 1642. There is evidence that his materials became increasingly scarce during the war. He returned to London in 1646, where he died in poverty at the age of 35. There are examples of Dobson's paintings in art galleries in the UK, the US, and in New Zealand, as well as in several English country houses.

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