William Constable

William Henry Archibald Constable (8 March 1906 – 22 August 1989) was a leading Australian film and stage designer, painter, cartoonist, printmaker and illustrator. Biography William Constable was born in Eaglehawk a suburb of Bendigo, Victoria. Constable was raised with two younger brothers in the family of the Reverend Archibald Henry Constable, rector of St. John's Church of England. Constable's childhood home still standing next to the church in Malmsbury, a small town in regional Victoria, Australia. Trained as apprentice electrical fitter at the Jolimont Workshops he worked for Victorian Railways. He took watercolour lessons from Meta Townsend. In 1926 he was laid off from the position, he left for England, where studied in London's Saint Martin's School of Art. At nights, he was involved with the most advanced experimental theatres in England, which set his passion for life. On return to Australia in 1930s, Constable worked on several commercial design projects, and was noticed after his very first theatrical commission in 1933, the cubist stage decorations for the Gregan McMahon Players’ production of Bridie's Jonah and the Whale at the Garrick in South Melbourne. The play was directed by Alec Coppel. The press claimed that the "production will be notable for the unusual settings by William Constable, a young artist who recently reached Melbourne from abroad … Constable's stage settings are great fun. They are simple and attractive." Constable took several commissions to create promotional visuals for Ford, Shell, some Government departments and even designed the float. In 1940s Constable illustrated Sir Eugene Goossens’ vision of his "dream child" Opera House. The two published an article with the visual proposal to build an Australian National Theatre in the style of a Greek amphitheatre built at Bennelong Point (4) With Constable's departure for Europe and the scandalous conclusion of Goossen's career in Australia, the proposed design was forgotten along with a few others of the time. Constable's artwork is not held in the Opera House archives.