Robert Dickerson AO (1924 –2015) is one of Australia’s most recognised and senior figurative painters, and was a prominent member of the Antipodeans group comprising of artists such as Charles Blackman, David Boyd, John Brack, Arthur Boyd and Clifton Pugh. This group formed in the late 1950s as a protest against the growing popularity of abstract expressionism.

Dickerson paints individual visages; singular characters who are often dejected, destitute and alone. His desire to paint people and situations from everyday life has resulted in a body of social realist works that is held in high regard. Dickerson was a self-taught artist who refused to go to art school. His art has been described as angular and high contrast chiaroscuro. He used a range of materials including paint, pastels, charcoals and other graphic media. In 2013 he was awarded an AO for his outstanding contribution to the visual arts and community service to the many charities he supported.