subject: The Wonderful Life Of Artist Norman Lindsay [print this page] Born in the tiny Victorian village of Creswick on the 22nd February 1879, Norman Alfred William Lindsay was fated to turn into an Australian legend and one of Australia's most famous and controversial cartoonists. His father and mother were Jane Elizabeth Lindsay and Robert Charles William Alexander Lindsay. Norman had a total of ten brothers and sisters among them 4 sisters and five brothers which included Percy and Lionel, also successful artists in their own right. Norman Lindsay is in fact widely thought to be as one of Australia's greatest artists and has left a substantial selection of works which are nowadays eagerly asked for by enthusiasts and businesses alike. Norman used his talent as an artist to express his social and political ideas which would very often generate deep debate and dialogue within the broader community. He was an accomplished painter, cartoonist, writer, sculptor, and modeller together with having released a variety of books.
Lindsay created a substantial amount of works in a number of media like oils, watercolours, etchings and pencils. Norman Lindsay was an efficient author and his children's publication, The Magic Pudding, is still popular nowadays. However not all of Lindsay's books achieved favorable popularity, his publication entitled 'Redheap' had been blocked due to its debatable subject matter. Probably his most well noted early on jobs had been as a cartoonist for the Bulletin. Throughout his employment at the The Bulletin Lindsay depicted the political ideas of the publication together with his own which were frequently considered racist and even incredibly right winged. A few of the characters which appeared often in his cartoons were the Red Menace along with the Yellow Peril. His political view was well shown in his artwork. He additionally had a taste for the erotic. He was well-known to his good friends to be a compulsive artist constantly working on one art project or another.
While his home at Falconbridge had been set amongst superb gardens and it grew in size over the years his studio was unpretentious and this served as an inspiration to other artists. Norman Lindsay generated numerous spectacular paintings and sketches duirng his life however he was also very well recognised for his etchings and sculptures.Norman stumbled on his artistic capabilities as a young child when he was quite unwell. He also had two brothers and a sister that were artists also, later he and his brother, Lionel, relocated to Melbourne to work for an alternative journal.
However it was not long before both Norman and Lionel gave their resignations from their Melbourne occupations and headed north in order to work at the Sydney Bulletin. Their jobs had them being employed as artists, drawing caricatures, cartoons and illustrations to be published in the magazine. Equally talented his brother, Lionel, worked and did most of the same duties as Norman yet he had a knack for stirring up problems with his artwork. As his status matured so did his controversial works including the picture titled the Crucified Venus that was removed from an event when it was regarded as questionable. The President of the Society of Artists insisted the image be displayed or all other works would likely be removed. The picture was re-hung.
Norman Lindsay was married two times, his first wife Catherine left him in 1909 and he remarried in 1920 to Rose who had been one of his models. Rose also moved into the position of his business manager, a role that she performed particularly well. She oversaw his work and ever since Norman Lindsay was continually moving onto his next piece after he concluded one, she swiftly accumulated an awesome collection a large number of of which has now been preserved. So popular and celebrated is the Norman Lindsay brand that his artworks hang in the main Australian art galleries plus hold pride of place in various individual residences and corporate offices. Auction houses often offer a wide range of Norman Lindsay works of art and the big demand has seen a constant increase in valuations over recent years. One of Australia's very best artists, Norman Lindsay passed away on 21st November 1969.
