Frank Dobson (London, 1886–1963) was a British sculptor and painter who, in his day, was regarded as one of the finest sculptors in Europe. A contemporary of Jacob Epstein and Henry Moore, he is now seen as one of the most important British sculptors of the twentieth century.
His early paintings show the influence of Cubism, Vorticism and Futurism, but after the First World War he turned increasingly to sculpture. He was among the first in Britain to carve directly into the material rather than modelling a maquette beforehand, and his female nudes, with their simplified forms and flowing lines, reflect the influence of African art. He made bronze portraits of H. H. Asquith, Osbert Sitwell and Tallulah Bankhead, and in 1930 the Tate bought a larger-than-life sculpture by him. He served as President of the London Group from 1923 to 1927 and, in 1946, was appointed head of sculpture at the Royal College of Art, a post he held until 1953. For the Festival of Britain in 1951 he created London Pride.
After his death, his reputation declined as postmodernism and conceptual art rose to prominence, although a revival of his work has begun in recent years.