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William Dobson (1610 - 28 October 1646),
portraitist, was one of the first notable
England|English painters, praised by his
contemporary John Aubrey as "the most excellent
painter that England has yet bred". He was born in
London the son of a decorative artist, and was
apprenticed to William Peake probably later joined
the studio of Francis Cleyn. He is believed to
have had access to the Royal Collection and to
have copied works by Titian and Anthony Van Dyck,
Charles I of England|King Charles I chief painter.
The colour and texture of Dobson's work was
influenced by Venetian art, but Van Dyck's style
has little apparent influence on Dobson. Van Dyck
himself discovered Dobson when he noticed one of
the young artists pictures in a London shop
window. He introduced Dobson to the King, who had
Dobson paint himself, his sons and members of the
court. 

When Van Dyck died in 1641 Dobson probably
succeeded him as sergeant-painter to the King,
though proof his lacking. During the English Civil
War Dobson was based at the Royalist centre of
Oxford and painted many leading Cavaliers. His
portrait of the future Charles II of
England|Charles II as Prince of Wales at the age
of around twelve is a notable baroque composition,
and perhaps his finest work. He also painted the
James II of England|Duke of York, Prince Rupert
and Prince Maurice.

Around sixty of Dobson's works survice, mostly
half-length portraits most of them dated from 1642
or later. The thick impasto of his early work gave
way to a mere skim of paint, perhaps reflecting a
wartime scarcity of materials. After Oxford fell
to the Parliamentarians in June 1646 Dobson
returned to London. Now without patronage he was
briefly imprisoned for debt and died in poverty at
the age of thirty-six. 

Dobson is regarded as a talented painter with a
fine sense for colour and good powers of
observation. However an entirely English training
such as Dobson's could not be first rate  in the
early 17th century and he had technical
weaknesses. There are examples of Dobson's work at
Tate Britain and the National Portrait Gallery
(United Kingdom)|National Portrait Gallery in
London and at several English country houses.
There is no full biography. The most comprehesive
study of Dobson and his work is  William Dobson,
1611–1646 an exhibition catalogue written by M.
Rogers for a 1983 exhibition at the National
Portrait Gallery. 

==References==
*Brief Lives by John Aubrey.

==External links== Commons|