Deutscher and Hackett

William Dobell was much admired for his ability to employ a style and technique suited to the character of the person whose portrait he was painting, as seen in Charles Lloyd Jones. In the words of his biographer and fellow artist, James Gleeson, Dobell placed 'his style at the service of the character.'¹ In this painting Lloyd Jones is portrayed as the young aesthete, connoisseur and collector to be, the elegance of Dobell's execution in keeping with the character and appearance of the sitter.

Charles Benyon Lloyd Jones was born in 1932, the son of Sir Charles Lloyd Jones (1878-1958) a leading Sydney merchant of his day and patron of the arts. Lloyd Jones senior was an early and ongoing patron of Dobell, the Lloyd Jones collection including Dobell's works from 1930 onwards, including a number of family portraits of schoolboy sons David and Charles, and Portrait of Lady Lloyd Jones, 1952, now in collection of the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Following in his father's footsteps, Charles Benyon was a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales from 1972, being Vice-President 1976-1980, and President from 1976-1980. Not only did his father study art and is represented in the collections of the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria, but he was also a co-founder of the magazine Art in Australia in 1916. When he established the David Jones' Art Gallery in 1944, its first exhibition was devoted to Dobell. Others followed in 1954 and 1960. The Dobell connection continued through his son, Charles Benyon being a Trustee of the Sir William Dobell Art Foundation since 1971. A distinguished member of the David Jones dynasty, Charles Lloyd Jones' many offices have included Consul General for Finland 1972-1988; Non-Executive Chairman of David Jones Ltd Sydney 1980-1981; Councillor of the Australian Retailers' Association, Retail Traders' Association, New South Wales President 1976-1978; and Vice-President of the French Chamber of Commerce, Sydney. His honours include Officer of the Order of Merit, Italy; Commander of the Order of the Lion, Finland; and Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.

During the early 1950s Dobell completed a number of portrait commissions including Sir Charles Lloyd Jones and Lady Lloyd Jones, Tony Clune, Sir Hudson Fysh, and a brilliant study of the great English Shakespearian actor Anthony Quayle as Falstaff. It seems likely that our portrait was painted about this time.

1. Gleeson, James, William Dobell, Thames & Hudson, London, 1964, p.104

DAVID THOMAS