William Dexter

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William Dexter (1818 - 1860) was an English-Australian painter.

Dexter was born at Melbourne, Derbyshire, England. He became an apprentice at the Derby China factory, and painted flowers and birds in the Chinese and Japanese styles. He then studied at Paris, and returning to England, married Caroline Harper at Nottingham in 1843. He had a picture in the exhibition of the Royal Academy in 1851 and another in the following year. He then sailed to Australia and arrived at Sydney on 8 October 1852.

He was at Bendigo in August 1853, where William Howitt heard him advocating republican doctrines at a meeting of diggers. His wife came out from England at the end of 1854, and in March 1855 they together opened a gallery of arts and school of design in Bathurst-street, Sydney. This apparently was not a success for they went to live at Stratford, Victoria, in 1856, and there made the acquaintance of Angus McMillan. In 1857 Dexter exhibited six oils and three watercolours at the first exhibition of the Victorian Society of Fine Arts, held at Melbourne.

Shortly afterwards he returned to Sydney as the Dexters had separated. He became a partner in a sign-writing business, and died there in 1860.

A book about William and Caroline, Folie A Deux: William and Caroline Dexter in Colonial Australia, was written by Patrick Morgan in 1999.

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