Background
Rubbo, or Dattilo-Rubbo, was born in Naples in 1870 and arrived in Australia in 1897.
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Antonio Rubbo
Edit ProfileCareer
From 1898 Rubbo taught in Sydney schools including Saint Joseph"s College, Hunters Hill, Kambala, The Scots College and Newington College.
Achievements
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Other students included Norah Simpson, Frank Hinder, Grace Cossington Smith (whom Dattilo Rubbo referred to affectionately as "Mrs Van Gogh"), Donald Friend ("Aha Donaldo, always the barocco. Rub it out, boy, rub it out!"), Roy De Maistre, war artist Roy Hodgkinson, Archibald Prize winner Arthur Murch, social realist Roy Dalgarno, Tom Bass, and more.
Politics
In contrast to nearly all other art teachers in Australia at the time, he was not a reactionary, and encouraged his students to experiment with styles as radically different from his own as post-impressionism and cubism.
Membership
He was a flamboyant character who believed in championing his students to the hilt. Indeed, in 1916 he challenged a committee member of the Royal Art Society to a duel because he had refused to hang a post-impressionist landscape by his pupil Roland Wakelin.
Connections
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Born
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Died
June 1, 1955 (aged 84) -
Nationality
Australia