Dodd studied at the Glasgow School of Art alongside Muirhead Bone (also included in this exhibition), who married Dodd’s sister. He was awarded a travel scholarship which allowed him to travel to France, Italy, and Spain to study art. He was appointed a war artist in 1916, executing more than thirty portraits of leading military officials. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1927 and served as a Trustee of the Tate Gallery.
