Will Dyson (1880-1938)

Will Dyson (1880-1938)
Labour battalion man (1917)
drawing
Sheet: 57.5 x 48.6 cm;
Image: 47.5 x 48.6 cm
collection Australian War Memorial

William ‘Will’ Henry Dyson is one of the most influential cartoonists and satirists in Australian art. He was also an avid writer and Australia’s first official war artist.

Dyson was born in 1880 in Alfredton, Victoria. As a young child, he relocated to South Melbourne with his family. Only a few short years later, Dyson began his career as an artist. At the age of 17, he submitted his self-taught drawings to the Sydney publication the Bulletin and subsequently became a regular contributor.

In 1909 Dyson held a solo exhibition of his caricatures in the Royal Arcade, Melbourne and sailed for London the same year with his new bride Ruby Lindsay, artist and sister of Norman Lindsay. In London, Dyson produced caricatures and satirical cartoons for various British publications including The Daily Herald, the new labor newspaper where he was appointed cartoonist-in-chief. In 1915 the most famous of his seven cartoon books was published; twenty large drawings titled Kultur Cartoons, with a foreword by H. G. Wells.

Dyson’s characteristic style and sharp satire began to embody an anti-German sentiment (as was the sentiment of all the British subjects) and revealed his committed Australian Nationalism. In 1916, he applied to join the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) as an artist. He claimed his intention “would be to interpret in a series of drawings, for national preservation, the sentiments and special Australian characteristics of our Army. Dyson was given the honorary rank of Lieutenant and sent to the Western Front in December 1916, albeit without pay or allowance. Here he was twice wounded at Messines and Zonnebeke. It was not until 1917 that he was formally appointed as Official War Artist within the AIF. Dyson compassionately portrayed the Australian soldier not as war hero, but as man. These considerate works portray raw, powerful and real emotion.

Dyson’s commission as war artist officially ended in 1920, yet he had returned to Australia in 1919 after the death of his wife. Dyson’s grief was evident in the poignant and moving poetry and prose he produced at this time. He continued to work with various newspapers and on various artistic projects until returning to London in 1930. Dyson died in London in 1938 from a long-standing heart condition. His death made newspaper headlines around the world.

Tania Zora

References

Vane, Lindesay. Dyson, William Henry (Will) (1880–1938). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, 1981.

William Henry Dyson. Australian War Memorial online resource. https://www.awm.gov.au/people/P65053/

McMullin, Ross and Dyson, Will. 1880-1938 Will Dyson: cartoonist, etcher and Australia’s finest war artist. Angus & Robertson, London: Sydney, 1984