The Sir William Dobell Art Foundation was formed in 1971 in memory of the Archibald prize-winning Australian artist Sir William Dobell (1899-1970), who was known for his landscapes and portrait paintings. The Foundation established the Sir William Dobell Chair of Art History at ANU, which it has continued to support for 30 years. This position has helped the College of Arts and Social Sciences support a teacher and researcher and strengthened the university's position as a leader in art history and curatorial studies.

For more information about the Sir William Dobell Foundation, click here.

Call for Applications - Chair and Visiting Fellows 2026

Each year the Centre for Art History and Art Theory in the College of Arts and Social Science may offer up to one position known as the Sir William Dobell Visiting Chair and up to four positions known as the Sir William Dobell Visiting Fellow for the Centre for Art History and Art Theory.

Applications are now open until 08/08/2025.

For more information at to apply, see:

• Visiting Chair
• Visiting Fellows

Previous Chairs of the Sir William Dobell Chair of Art History​

Emeritus Professor Chris McAuliffe

Emeritus Professor Helen Ennis

Emeritus Professor Sasha Grishin

Emeritus Professor Michael Greenhalgh