Norman Lindsay
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Norman_lindsay_statue.jpg
Norman Alfred William Lindsay (February 22, 1879 - November 21, 1969) was a prolific artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, and scale modeler. He is widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest artists. His sumptuous nudes were highly controversial and in 1939 several were burned by irate wowsers in the United States who discovered them when the train in which they traveled caught fire. A large body of his work is housed in his former home at Faulconbridge, New South Wales, now the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum.
Lindsay was associated with a number of poets, such as Kenneth Slessor and Hugh McCrae, influencing them in part through a philosophical system outlined in his book Creative Effort. His son, Jack Lindsay, emigrated to England, where he set up Fanfrolico Press, which issued works illustrated by Lindsay.
Lindsay wrote the children's classic The Magic Pudding, and created a scandal when his novel Redheap was banned due to censorship laws. His best novels have a frankness and vitality that matches his art.
Lindsay also worked as an editorial cartoonist, notably for The Bulletin. Despite his enthusiasm for erotica, he shared the racist and right-wing political leanings that dominated the Bulletin at that time; the Red Menace and Yellow Peril were popular themes in his cartoons. These views occasionally spilled over into his other work, and modern editions of The Magic Pudding often omit one couplet in which 'you unmitigated Jew' is used as an insult.
Sam Neill played a fictionalized version of Lindsay in the 1994 film Sirens, set and filmed primarily at his Faulconbridge home.
External links
- The Norman Lindsay Gallery (http://www.hermes.net.au/nlg/)
- Norman Lindsay - Images from the Art in Australia Special Edition (http://www.dropbears.com/a/artists/norman_lindsay.htm)