Hazel Dooney was the first Australian artist, perhaps the first globally, to walk away from a brief stint in the traditional commercial gallery system to pioneer a direct-to-collector business model for contemporary art via the internet, primarily by creating series of artworks and painting new works within each series by private commission.

The artist built her website in 2003 with designer Kate Linton and software engineer Petras Surna of Yart Pty Ltd.

In July 2006, during a collaboration with progressive gallerist Andy Dinan, Hazel was featured on the front page of The Age newspaper's Business section in an article titled, ‘State-of-the-art selling rivals play to the galleries’ with photo caption “Hazel Dooney says the art world will use the internet to flourish.” [1] [2] The artist began her controversial, widely read blog Self vs Self in August. In the same month, Hazel’s first essay, ‘Life Study’ was published in The Next Big Thing, Griffith Review. [3] ‘Life Study’ was re-published by The Australian Financial Review in September 2006, retitled ‘In front is a precipice, behind are wolves: Hazel Dooney walks the razor's edge between respect and celebrity in today's art world’. [4]

In December 2007, Christies London re-sold Sports Career Babe: Tennis [5] and Sports Career Babe: Cricket, [6] for £10,000 GBP ($23,130 AUD) each. In November 2008, despite the global financial crisis, Dangerous Career Babe: The Aviatrix was re-sold by Christies London for £14,375 GBP, equivalent to $32,775 AUD at the time. [7] [8] [9]

In 2011 Hazel was included as a case study in the university textbook Strategy, Theory and Practice, currently in its third edition. [10]

The artist took a hiatus from 2012 to 2017 for intensive treatment at a private psychiatric hospital to recover from trauma. During this time she created her first public artwork, Ten Dicta for Young Women Who Are Artists and wrote ‘Broken’ published in Women & Power, Griffith Review. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] ‘Broken’ was included alongside the work of Helen Garner and Robert Dessaix in The Best Australian Essays 2013. [16] [17] In mid 2017 Hazel returned to Sydney and built a new website for herself.

From 2019 to 2021 Hazel worked on a private international portrait commission series and, until mid 2022, developed new work under the patronage of venture capitalist Mark Carnegie. In April 2022 she began a column at Coagula Art Journal, founded and edited by American art critic Mat Gleason. [18]

In 2023 Hazel's essay ‘The Future of Art Fraud’ was published in Griffith Review, Counterfeit Culture. [19] In October 2024 the artist advised Australia’s leading arts critic, John McDonald, on concept and digital strategy for an online direct-to-subscriber publishing model at everythingthe.com and, in response to requests from artists, wrote the guide DIY Web 2.0 Empowerment, available as a short-term digital subscription. [20] [21]

In mid 2025, the total value of artworks by Hazel Dooney resold at auction was $663,988 AUD. [22]

Discover Hazel Dooney’s blog/newsletter hybrid, Studio Notes, for insights on contemporary art, ideas, and updates. View onsite with narration by the artist or receive a text only version via email.

Footnotes

[1] 2006 Ahmed, Nabila. 'State-of-the-art selling rivals play to the galleries', The Age, Business (Ed. Michael Short), 5 July (pp. 1-2).

[2] Correction to [2006 Ahmed, Nabila. 'State-of-the-art selling rivals play to the galleries', The Age, Business (Ed. Michael Short), 5 July (pp. 1-2).]: Hazel Dooney built her first website in 2003 with designer Kate Linton and software engineer Petras Surna of Yart Pty Ltd. She did not build a website with the help of Chris "Creed" O'Hanlon and he was not her mentor or sometime-collaborator.

[3] 2006 Dooney, Hazel. 'Life Study', The Next Big Thing, Griffith REVIEW Edition 13 (Ed. Julianne Schultz), August (pp. 275-283 and cover art).

[4] 2006 Dooney, Hazel. An edited extract of 'Life Study' retitled 'In front is a precipice, behind are wolves: Hazel Dooney walks the razor's edge between respect and celebrity in today's art world', The Australian Financial Review, 15 September 2006 (pp. 6-7).

[5] 2007 Christies London. Sports Career Babe: Tennis, Lot 92, Modern and Contemporary Australian Art Including Works by New Zealand and South African Artists, 12 December.

[6] 2007 Christies London. Sports Career Babe: Cricket, Lot 93, Modern and Contemporary Australian Art Including Works by New Zealand and South African Artists, 12 December.  

[7] 2008 Coster, Peter. 'It's love, set and match', The Herald Sun, 13 March.

[8] 2008 Coster, Peter. 'The Market Is Solid', The Herald Sun, 27 March.

[9] 2008 Christies London. Dangerous Career Babe: The Aviatrix, Lot 84, Modern and Contemporary Australian and South African Art, 12 December.

[10] 2010 Case study, Strategic networks. Strategy: Theory and Practice. Clegg, Stewart R.; Schweitzer, Jochen; Whittle, Andrea; and Pitelis. Christos. 28 January (pp. 211-212). Published by SAGE Publications. ISBN9781473938458

[11] 2013 Gottgens, Carla. Short film of Ten Dicta for Young Women Who are Artists (2013 – 2022) by Hazel Dooney, Melbourne CBD. Commissioned by the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Robert Doyle, and City of Melbourne, November.

[12] 2013 Johnston, Chris. 'Women should take note - the writing's on the wall' , The Sunday Age, 1 December (p. 3). Also published in print and online in the Canberra Times, and Brisbane Times.

[13] Correction to [2013 Johnston, Chris. ‘Women should take note - the writing's on the wall', The Sunday Age, 1 December (p. 3). Also published in print and online in the Canberra Times, and Brisbane Times.]: Correction: Hazel Dooney has not had bipolar disorder since she was 16.

[14] 2013 'Broken', Memoir, Women & Power, Griffith REVIEW Edition 40, (Ed. Julianne Schultz). April (pp. 252-262).

[15] 2013 ‘Bad Education’, an edited extract of ‘Broken’, Good Weekend Magazine insert in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April (pp. 25-27).

[16] 2013 ‘Broken’, The Best Australian Essays 2013 (Ed. Robert Manne). Published by Black Inc., November (pp. 21-31). ISBN9781863956253

[17] 2014 Lever, Susan P. 'Distinctive Voices: Review of Robert Manne (Ed.) The Best Australian Essays 2013', Journal: Australian Book Review, No 359, p.52

[18] 2022 – 2024 Dooney, Hazel. Chaptered narrative column, Coagula Art Journal (Ed. Mat Gleason) at https://coagula.com

[19] 2023 Dooney, Hazel. 'The future of art fraud', Griffith Review Issue 79, Counterfeit Culture (Ed. Carody Culver), 7 February (pp. 111-117).

[20] 2024 McDonald, John. ‘Concept and digital strategy for everythingthe.com by Hazel Dooney’, About page at www.everythingthe.com

[21] 2025 Dooney, Hazel. ‘DIY Web 2.0 Empowerment: a guide for autonomous learners using strategies evolved by the artist since 2005’, at www.afterstudiohours.com

[22] 2025 Furphy, John. 'Hazel Dooney, Where to Buy and Sell', Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest at www.aasd.com.au