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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders both past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that this website contains images of deceased persons.

The Gallery’s Acknowledgement of Country, and information on culturally sensitive and restricted content and the use of historic language in the collection can be found here.

Rosemary Dobson

1981
Max Dupain OBE

gelatin silver photograph on paper (sheet: 28.5 cm x 29.5 cm, image: 27.9 cm x 28.6 cm)

Rosemary Dobson AO (1920-2012), poet, translator, editor and writer, published her first book of poetry in 1944, while she was working as an editor at Angus and Robertson in Sydney. She continued to write over seven decades, her poems characteristically meditating upon themes of art, antiquity and mythology as well as motherhood, family and friendship. Between 1970 and 1975 she produced not only a book of poems, but a critical volume on the art of Ray Crooke, a treatise on Australian painting in the 1940s, and a collaborative translation of the Russian poets Anna Akhmatova and Osip Mandelstam. Her fourteenth collection of poetry was published in 2000. Several of her earlier books were published by Brindabella Press, owned and run by her late husband Alec Bolton. When Bolton left the publishing firm to become Director of Publications at the National Library, the couple moved to Canberra, where Dobson lived until her death.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Rex Dupain 2003
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Max Dupain/Copyright Agency, 2024

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. Works of art from the collection are reproduced as per the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). The use of images of works from the collection may be restricted under the Act. Requests for a reproduction of a work of art can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

Artist and subject

Max Dupain OBE (age 70 in 1981)

Rosemary Dobson AO (age 61 in 1981)

Donated by

Rex Dupain (15 portraits)

© National Portrait Gallery 2024
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The National Portrait Gallery acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises the continuing connection to lands, waters and communities. We pay our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and to Elders past and present. We respectfully advise that this site includes works by, images of, names of, voices of and references to deceased people.

This website comprises and contains copyrighted materials and works. Copyright in all materials and/or works comprising or contained within this website remains with the National Portrait Gallery and other copyright owners as specified.

The National Portrait Gallery respects the artistic and intellectual property rights of others. The use of images of works of art reproduced on this website and all other content may be restricted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Requests for a reproduction of a work of art or other content can be made through a Reproduction request. For further information please contact NPG Copyright.

The National Portrait Gallery is an Australian Government Agency