Dunstan family donates Will Dyson portraits to the Memorial
Two rare portraits by Australia’s first official war artist, Will Dyson.
Two portraits by Australia’s first official war artist, Will Dyson, have been donated to the Australian War Memorial by the family of Victoria Cross recipient William Dunstan.
The works, one of Dunstan VC and the other of his son William Jr as a young boy, have been preserved for by the family for almost 100 years. They were recently gifted to the Memorial by William Jr’s late wife, Patricia.
Memorial Director, Matt Anderson said the portraits were a significant addition to the National Collection.
“This bequest is a generous and significant addition to our collection of material from the Dunstan family, which provides an invaluable record of one Australian family’s wartime service. These drawings bring these records to life,” Mr Anderson said.
“The portraits hold additional significance due to their artist, given Will Dyson’s important legacy, both as Australia’s first official war artist and for his role in shaping the vision for the Australian War Memorial.”
Matthew Dunstan and his wife, Rosemary, attended the Memorial to handover the treasured portraits.
A friendship between neighbours
Dyson and the Dunstan family lived on the same street in Melbourne during the late 1920s. Their friendship led to the creation of the portraits.
“Will Dyson lived just over the back from the Dunstan’s, and the ‘two Bills’ were good friends,” recalled Matthew Dunstan, son of Patricia and William Jr.
“Dad remembered being sent to sit for his portrait, albeit a bit unwillingly.”
The Memorial already holds William Dunstan VC’s medals, as well as wartime letters exchanged between father and son during the Second World War.
Studio portrait of Corporal (Cpl) William Dunstan VC. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for action at Lone Pine in August 1915.
“The correspondence between our grandfather and our father shows a close relationship between the two with William senior closely following his son’s involvement through the Second World War as it progressed,” said Marsha, daughter of Patricia and William Jr.
Senior Curator of Art, Anthea Gunn, said the portraits add dimension to the Dunstan and Dyson collection.
“We’re very grateful to Mrs Dunstan and her family for entrusting these portraits to us,” Ms Gunn said.
“The drawings are a record of the bond between two men who both knew the reality of war, and an innocent child who would all too soon find out.”
Will Dyson, Small Talk,1920 ART02430
Depicts two soldiers lying in a bomb crater, in a war damaged landscape, having a conversation.
Will Dyson, Stretcher bearers near Butte de Warlencourt,1917 ART02266
Depicts two stretcher bearers in full uniform, wearing tin helmets, carrying a stretcher with a wounded man across a war damaged landscape.
The Dunstan Legacy
William Dunstan was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions during the battle at Lone Pine in 1915. A reserved man, he endured rather than enjoyed, the press attention that followed. After the First World War he became a leader in the business side of newspapers.
His son William Jr went on to serve in the AIF in the Middle East, and then the British Army, during the Second World War.
The portraits of father and son now join other artworks by Will Dyson in the Memorial’s collection, preserving not only the friendship of two men impacted by the war but also a family story than spans generations.