William Charles Th. Dobson

William Charles Thomas Dobson (German,1817-1898) The prosperous days of Job signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1855 (lower left) oil on canvas 44 x 35in (111.7 x 88.9cm) Footnote: PROVENANCE: with Agnew & Sons, London. EXHIBITED: Manchester, 'Exhibition of Art Treasures', 1857; Manchester, 'Royal Jubilee Exhibition', 1887. William Charles Thomas Dobson was born in Hamburg, Germany, butshortly after his birth his parents moved to Great Britain. As ayoung man, Dobson practiced drawing during his visits to theBritish Museum and he was enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in1836. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1842 and hewas noted for his portrayal of uplifting themes and brilliantcolors reminiscent of the work of Sir Charles Eastlake. Dobson waselected ARA in 1860 and RA in 1872. Dobson was the first headmaster of the Birmingham School forDesign, but held that post for only two years, at which time hedecided that he needed to travel to Germany and Italy to furtherdevelop his art. He returned to England after a year abroad anddedicated himself to painting. The Bible passage referred to in the painting is Job, 42:12-15 whenGod rewards Job after all his tribulations. "So the Lord blessedthe latter end of Job more than his beginning.." Job is depicted atthe center of the composition lifting his hands in thanks to theLord and is surrounded by his generations. A watercolor study for The Prosperous Days of Job, wasoffered at Bonhams, London, 9 March 2004, lot 72.

William Charles Thomas Dobson (German, 1817-1898) The prosperous days of Job signed with the artist's monogram and dated 1855 (lower left) oil on canvas 44 x 35in (111.7 x 88.9cm) Footnote: William Charles Thomas Dobson was born in Hamburg, Germany, but shortly after his birth his parents moved to Great Britain. As a young man, Dobson practiced drawing during his visits to the British Museum and he was enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools in 1836. He exhibited regularly at the Royal Academy from 1842 and he was noted for his portrayal of uplifting themes and brilliant colors reminiscent of the work of Sir Charles Eastlake. Dobson was elected ARA in 1860 and RA in 1872. Dobson was the first headmaster of the Birmingham School for Design, but held that post for only two years, at which time he decided that he needed to travel to Germany and Italy to further develop his art. He returned to England after a year abroad and dedicated himself to painting. The Bible passage referred to in the painting is Job, 42:12-15 when God rewards Job after all his tribulations. "So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.." Job is depicted at the center of the composition lifting his hands in thanks to the Lord and is surrounded by his generations. A watercolor study for The Prosperous Days of Job, was offered at Bonhams, London, 9 March 2004, lot 72.

signed with monogram and dated 1861 l.r. oil on canvas PROVENANCE Sotheby's, 9 June 1994, lot 172; Private collection EXHIBITED Royal Academy, 1861, no. 34 LITERATURE AND REFERENCES Art Journal , 1861, pg. 169 CATALOGUE NOTE Dobson was one of the group of English painters who sought to raise the standard of religious art in the 1850s and 1860s. He had been born in Hamburg but his artistic education took place principally in London, where he drew in the British Museum and was enrolled in the Royal Academy Schools. In 1835 he was introduced to Sir Charles Eastlake, who inspired him to believe that art should treat edifying and spiritually uplifting themes. Eastlake's influence may have helped Dobson gain an appointment as headmaster of the Birmingham School of Design in 1843, a position he held until he set out for Italy to study Renaissance art. Sometime after his return from Italy Dobson entered a subject entitled Lamentation to the third competition for schemes of decoration for the Place of Westminster in 1847. From 1842 onwards Dobson was a frequent exhibitor of biblical and religious subjects at the Royal Academy. Dobson's 1853 Academy exhibit The Charity of Dorcas was so much admired by Queen Victoria that a variation on the theme entitled The Almsdeeds of Dorcas was commissioned and given as a present to Prince Albert. Towards the end of the 1850s the want of an indigenous school of religious painters was increasingly expressed. James Dafforne, in his notes on Dobson in the 1860 Art Journal (pp. 137-139), advocated the painter as one who was 'animated by the highest spirit of Art' and whose talent he summarized as follows: 'the mind of Mr Dobson, and his style of painting, are adapted to the requirements of the time; his imagination can take in a wide expanse of pure and noble thoughts, without treading on the verge of eccentricity; his compositions are effective and graceful, and his colouring brilliant, even in a school where this quality is a distinguished feature.' However, Dafforne remained on guard against the Germanic tendency in English art, which in the late 1850s was regarded with increasing suspicion. He was concerned that Dobson had recently made a long stay in Dresden and advised his readers to 'look with some anxiety to see what effect has been produced by his residence there.' The present painting, which appeared at the Royal Academy just a year after Dafforne's comments were published, is however essentially a modern-life or genre subject of a kind familiar to visitors to the mid-century Royal Academy. Its religious significance lies in the engraved quotation of Christ's words to the Woman of Samaria as described in Chapter IV of the Gospel of St John on the pediment of the fountain. Dafforne's adoption of such a discreetly didactic form of art, quite different to his previous reconstructions of biblical events and use of Raphaelesque compositions, seems to represent his deliberate adoption of a type of painting which would be understood and appreciated by an English public.

William Charles Thomas Dobson, R.A., R.W.S., (1817-1898) Alms signed with monogram and dated '1871' (lower right) oil on canvas 26 x 21 5/8 in. (66.1 x 55 cm.) Literature Art Journal, 1871, p.153 Exhibited London, Royal Academy, 1871, no.223 (as Alms. "When thou doestalms let not they left hand etc").

exhibited: london, royal academy, 1856, no. 532. 'oh that i were as in months past, at the time when god was watching over me, when his lamp shone above my head, and by its light i walked through the darkness! if i could be as in the days of my prime, when god protected my home, while the almighty was still there at my side, and my servants stood round me, while my path flowed with milk, and the rocks streamed oil.' job xxix.