William Dargie Mr Walter A Selle, MA

This portrait by William Dargie of schoolteacher and university registrar Walter Albert Selle (1883–1968) is now in the University Art Collection in the Chau Chak Wing Museum at The University of Sydney. Selle was acting vice-chancellor at the university in 1932–33 and again in 1948.

Dargie trained under Archibald Colquhoun and Mervyn Napier Waller at Melbourne Technical College. However, he was most inspired by the work of John Longstaff. His portrait of Selle is one of 45 works shown in the Archibald over six decades, with Dargie rewarded by Archibald judges eight times between 1941 and 1956 – a record unmatched in the prize’s history.