Robert Dickerson, born 1924, is an Australian figurative painter and former member of the Antipodeans* group of artists. Dickerson is one of Australia's most recognised figurative artists and one of a generation of influential artists who include Ray Crooke, Charles Blackman, Laurence Hope, Margaret Olley and Inge King.

Dickerson is a self-taught artist who refused to go to art school. His art has been described as angular and high contrast chiaroscuro* and executed in a range of materials including paint, pastels, charcoals and other graphic media.

The inspiration for his art comes from everyday life and he draws on the themes of loneliness, vulnerability and isolation. Lone characters with long noses and whimsical, often ave...