Although there had been some small controversies about the winning artworks of the Archibald prize before; Mr Dobell's winning artwork of Joshua Smith in 1943 caused an uproar. The other two finalists, Joseph Wolinski and Mary Edwards took legal action against Dobell, the judges and the trustees of the gallery of N.S.W. When asked why they thought Dobell didn't deserve the award the other two finalists said that Joshua Smith was ‘distorted and clearly caricature', which was a direct violation of the rules. Where it was stated that an artwork must be a portrait to be allowed to enter the competition. The case aroused the interest of both familiar with art and not familiar with the art, who decided to voice their opinions with the people on Dobell's
