Lionel Lindsay
Encyclopedia
Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay (17 October 1874 – 22 May 1961) was an Australian artist and brother of artist and illustrator Norman Lindsay
.
n town of Creswick
, into a creative family - he was the brother of artist Norman and artist and critic Daryl Lindsay
and of the relatively unknown artists Ruby Lindsay
and Percy Lindsay
. Lionel Lindsay became a pupil-assistant at the Melbourne Observatory (1889-1892) and later studied at the National Gallery School, Melbourne
and in George Coates' rooms.
Lindsay taught himself etching
and engraving
in the 1890s while a student, immediately prior to his first trip to Spain and England. On his return to Australia he settled in Sydney as a freelance artist and journalist, contributing to the Bulletin and other magazines and newspapers.
Key themes in his oeuvre include the swagman
in the outback
http://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0034.jpg, old Sydneyhttp://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0052.jpg, portraits of prominent Australianshttp://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/lawson/lindsayetchfull.html, romantic views of Spainhttp://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0093.jpg and Arab
culture, a series of classically inspired works and birds and animalshttp://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/lindsay_sir_lionel_arthur_pheasantandwisteria.htm.
Lindsay became a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
and was knighted for his services to Australian art in 1941. In 1942 Lindsay published Addled Art, a vituperative and anti-semitic attack on modernism
in art. Lindsay's views on Modernism, however, were not, however as clear cut as Addled Art would have it seem: for example, Lindsay supported William Dobell
's Archibald Prize
through the courts. He was good friends with Ernest Moffitt
and publish a book on his art (see link below). A Consideration of the Art of Ernest Moffitt was the first monograph written on an Australian artist.
, Queensland, holds rare books, manuscripts and maps, and over 400 art works by members of the Lindsay family and other significant Australian painters, including Frederick McCubbin
, Arthur Streeton
, Tom Roberts
and Rupert Bunny
.
Norman Lindsay
Norman Alfred William Lindsay was an Australian artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, scale modeler, and boxer. He was born in Creswick, Victoria....
.
Early life
Lindsay was born in the VictoriaVictoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
n town of Creswick
Creswick, Victoria
Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia. It is located 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 129 km northwest of Melbourne, in Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2006 census, Creswick had a population of 2,485...
, into a creative family - he was the brother of artist Norman and artist and critic Daryl Lindsay
Daryl Lindsay
Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay was an Australian artist and member of the creative Lindsay family.-Early life:...
and of the relatively unknown artists Ruby Lindsay
Ruby Lindsay
Ruby Lindsay was an Australian illustrator and painter, sister of Norman Lindsay and Percy Lindsay.Lindsay was born in Creswick, Victoria, the seventh child and second daughter of Robert and Jane Lindsay, and lived in Melbourne from the age of 16 with her brother Percy while studying at the...
and Percy Lindsay
Percy Lindsay
Percival Charles Lindsay was an Australian landscape painter, illustrator and cartoonist, born in Creswick, Victoria. Percy was the first child born to Jane Lindsay and Dr Robert Charles Lindsay...
. Lionel Lindsay became a pupil-assistant at the Melbourne Observatory (1889-1892) and later studied at the National Gallery School, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and in George Coates' rooms.
Lindsay taught himself etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
and engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
in the 1890s while a student, immediately prior to his first trip to Spain and England. On his return to Australia he settled in Sydney as a freelance artist and journalist, contributing to the Bulletin and other magazines and newspapers.
Career
In 1907 he held an extremely successful exhibition of etchings in Sydney with the Society of Artists. The two decades after 1907 saw him active with the Society of Artists and in 1921, when the Australian Painter-Etchers' Society was formed, Lindsay was its first president. He began to exhibit in London in 1923 and had his most successful exhibition of that period at Colnaghi, a London art dealer, in 1927. Colnaghi's Galleries and the critic Harold Wright led British interest in Lindsay's work and guaranteed his reputation as a major British printmaker and watercolourist.Key themes in his oeuvre include the swagman
Swagman
A swagman is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag...
in the outback
Outback
The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
http://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0034.jpg, old Sydneyhttp://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0052.jpg, portraits of prominent Australianshttp://www.library.usyd.edu.au/libraries/rare/lawson/lindsayetchfull.html, romantic views of Spainhttp://www.joseflebovicgallery.com/Catalogue/Archive/Cat-113-2005/Large/0093.jpg and Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
culture, a series of classically inspired works and birds and animalshttp://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/lindsay_sir_lionel_arthur_pheasantandwisteria.htm.
Lindsay became a Trustee of the Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
The Art Gallery of New South Wales , located in The Domain in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, was established in 1897 and is the most important public gallery in Sydney and the fourth largest in Australia...
and was knighted for his services to Australian art in 1941. In 1942 Lindsay published Addled Art, a vituperative and anti-semitic attack on modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
in art. Lindsay's views on Modernism, however, were not, however as clear cut as Addled Art would have it seem: for example, Lindsay supported William Dobell
William Dobell
Sir William Dobell, OBE was an Australian artist .The electoral Division of Dobell is named after him.- Life :...
's Archibald Prize
Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
through the courts. He was good friends with Ernest Moffitt
Ernest Moffitt
Ernest Edward Moffitt was an Australian artist.- Life :Moffitt was born in Bendigo, Victoria the son of John Thomas Lowry Moffitt, draper, and his wife Mary Emily, née Rogers. He was educated at All Saints school, St. Kilda, Melbourne...
and publish a book on his art (see link below). A Consideration of the Art of Ernest Moffitt was the first monograph written on an Australian artist.
Legacy
The Lionel Lindsay Art Gallery and Library, in ToowoombaToowoomba, Queensland
Toowoomba is a city in Southern Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital city, Brisbane. With an estimated district population of 128,600, Toowoomba is Australia's second largest inland city and its largest non-capital inland city...
, Queensland, holds rare books, manuscripts and maps, and over 400 art works by members of the Lindsay family and other significant Australian painters, including Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin
Frederick McCubbin was an Australian painter who was prominent in the Heidelberg School, one of the more important periods in Australia's visual arts history....
, Arthur Streeton
Arthur Streeton
Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter.-Early life:Streeton was born in Mount Duneed, near Geelong, and his family moved to Richmond in 1874. In 1882, Streeton commenced art studies with G. F. Folingsby at the National Gallery School.Streeton was influenced by French...
, Tom Roberts
Tom Roberts
Thomas William Roberts , usually known simply as Tom, was a prominent Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School.-Life:...
and Rupert Bunny
Rupert Bunny
Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny was an Australian painter, born in St Kilda, Victoria. He achieved success and critical acclaim as an expatriate in fin-de-siècle Paris....
.
Publications
- Lionel Lindsay, A book of woodcuts, drawn on wood and engraved (Sydney: Art in Australia; London: Constable, 1922).
- Lionel Lindsay, Twenty-one woodcuts (Sydney: Meryon Press, 1924).
- Lionel Lindsay, Etchings & drypoints of Spain & Australia (London: Colnaghi, 1927).
- Sydney Ure Smith and Leon Gellert (eds.), The art of Lionel Lindsay (Sydney: Art in Australia, 1928).
- Lionel Lindsay, Drawing and drawings in Australia (Sydney: Fairfax, 1937).
- Lionel Lindsay, Addled art (Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1942).
- Lionel Lindsay, Comedy of life: an autobiography, 1874-1961 (Sydney: Angus & Robertson, 1967).
- Lionel Lindsay, A Consideration of the Art of Ernest Moffitt.
- Joanna Mendelssohn, The art of Sir Lionel Lindsay. Volume 1. Woodcuts (Brookvale, N.S.W.: Copperfield Publishing Co., c1982).
- Joanna Mendelssohn, The art of Sir Lionel Lindsay. Volume II (Brookvale, N.S.W.: Copperfield, c1987).
External links
- Linsday's works in the National Library of AustraliaNational Library of AustraliaThe National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
, CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne... - Lindsay's works in the National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
, Canberra - Lionel Lindsay Art Gallery and Library, Toowoomba
- Biography, Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney