William Henry Archibald Constable (8 March 1906 – 22 August 1989) was a leading Australian film and stage designer, painter, cartoonist, printmaker and illustrator.
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.
Ironically, Constable's older son, Bill Junior, was involved in the production of the documentary 'Autopsy on a Dream' re-discovered in 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuHtP8OFOIA.
The highlighted top of the stone is the visual focus of the composition, where a pastel pink sandy foreground is the centre of action during the dance.
The fine lines of dried trees, a ritual pole and still sand waves make a statement of human presence and support the greatness of the rock.
After departure from Australia again in 1955 for England, he produced sets and costumes for the only ballet by Sir Noël Coward London Morning and then dedicated himself to design for cult movies such as Taste of Fear, The Hellions, The Skull, Doctor Who, and Casino Royal.
William Constable was significant in retaining great traditions of style and perfection that were established by the Ballets Russes and its artists.
1 Meta Townsend, wife of Reginald Sturgess, Victorian Art Society members, Australian artists, Meta Townsend's family lived in Malmsbury 2 Salter, Frank, Borovansky, the man who made Australian ballet, Wild Cat Press, 1980 3 Introduction to Catalogue of Exhibition, Sydney Ure Smith, O.B.E., President, Society of artists 4 Eugene Goossens, How Long Before Our Opera House Dream Comes True?
The Sunday Herald, 17 April 1949. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/page/1019234 5 Van Straten, Frank, The Sorcerer, 2007 [2][3][4] Sedneva, Olga, "Corroboree: White Fella Vision," original thesis for Master of Art Curatorship held by Schaeffer Library of the Power Institute Foundation for Art & Visual Culture, the University of Sydney