MELBOURNE, Australia ( Sat July 26, 2003) (AP) _ One of Australia's most respected portrait artists, Sir William Dargie, died Saturday at age 91, his son said.

Dargie won Australia's most prestigious portrait award, the Archibald Prize, a record eight times between 1941 and 1956.

He heard of his win in the 1941 competition while digging a trench in Egypt, where he was serving in the Australian army during World War II.

Dargie painted a portrait of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 that still hangs in Australia's Parliament House. Prints of the work were sent to council chambers and schools across the country, which is independent but retains the British monarch as its head of state.

Dargie's son, Roger, did not disclose the cause of his father's death but said he had been ill for several weeks. He died in his sleep at the Freemasons Hospital in the southern city of Melbourne.

One of Dargie's most famous portraits was of renowned Aboriginal artist Albert Namatjira, whom he considered a close friend.

Dargie had found painting very difficult in the last five years, because he suffered arthritis, his son said.

Dargie is survived by his son and a daughter Faye, 55, four granddaughters and a great grandson. Funeral details were not immediately known.

Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.