Sir Lionel Arthur Lindsay (17 October 187422 May 1961) was an Australian artist, known for his paintings and etchings.

Early life

Lindsay was born in the

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

n town of

Creswick Creswick is a town in west-central Victoria, Australia, 18 kilometres north of Ballarat and 122 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Hepburn. It is 430 metres above sea level. At the 2016 census, Creswick had a populatio ...

, into a creative family – he was the brother of artist

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his genera ...

and artist and critic

Daryl Lindsay Sir Ernest Daryl Lindsay (31 December 1889, in Creswick, Victoria – 25 December 1976, in Mornington), known as Dan Lindsay, was an Australian artist. Early life He was the youngest son in a large family born to Anglo-Irish surgeon Robert Cha ...

and of the relatively unknown artists

Ruby Lindsay Ruby Lindsay (20 March 1885 – 12 March 1919) was an Australian illustrator and painter, sister of Norman Lindsay and Percy Lindsay. Biography Lindsay was born in Creswick, Victoria, the seventh child and second daughter of Robert and Jane ...

and

Percy Lindsay Percival (Percy) Charles Lindsay (17 September 1870 – 21 September 1952) was an Australian landscape painter, illustrator and cartoonist, born in Creswick, Victoria. Percy was the first child born to Jane Lindsay (née Williams) and Dr Rob ...

. Lionel became a pupil-assistant at the Melbourne Observatory (1889–1892) and later studied at the

National Gallery School The National Gallery of Victoria Art School, associated with the National Gallery of Victoria, was a private fine arts college founded in 1867 and was Australia's leading art school of 50 years. It is also referred to as the 'National Gallery ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and in George Coates' rooms. Lindsay taught himself

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other types ...

and

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ...

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. He married Jean, a sister of the literary Dyson boys (

Ted TED may refer to: Economics and finance * TED spread between U.S. Treasuries and Eurodollar Education * ''Türk Eğitim Derneği'', the Turkish Education Association ** TED Ankara College Foundation Schools, Turkey ** Transvaal Education Depa ...

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, and

Ambrose Ambrose of Milan ( la, Aurelius Ambrosius; ), venerated as Saint Ambrose, ; lmo, Sant Ambroeus . was a theologian and statesman who served as Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397. He expressed himself prominently as a public figure, fiercely promo ...

), while

married Lionel's sister

Ruby A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sa ...

Career

Pastoral - Lionel Lindsay after Sydney Long - 1918

Lindsay was good friends with

Ernest Moffitt Ernest Edward Moffitt (15 September 1871 – 23 March 1899) 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 Sai ...

and published a book on his art, ''A Consideration of the Art of Ernest Moffitt'' (1899). 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 Colnaghi is an art dealership in St James's, central London, England, which is the oldest commercial art gallery in the world, having been established in 1760. Foundation The business that became the Colnaghi gallery was established by Itali ...

, 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

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

ist. Key themes in his oeuvre include the

swagman A swagman (also called a swaggie, sundowner or tussocker) was a transient labourer who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying his belongings in a swag. The term originated in Australia in the 19th century and was later used in New Zeala ...

in the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

, old Sydney, portraits of prominent Australians, romantic views of Spain and

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

culture, a series of classically inspired works and birds and animals. In 1937 Lindsay became a foundation member of, and exhibited with,

Robert Menzies The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

' anti-modernist organisation, the

Australian Academy of Art The Australian Academy of Art was a conservative Australian government-authorised art organisation which operated for ten years between 1937 and 1946 and staged annual exhibitions. Its demise resulted from opposition by Modernist artists, especiall ...

.Lindsay became a Trustee of the

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...

and was knighted for his services to Australian art in 1941.'New Year Honours' ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 1 January 1941, p. 5. In 1942 Lindsay published ''Addled Art'', a vituperative and anti-semitic attack on

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

in art. Lindsay's views on modernism, however, were not as clear cut as ''Addled Art'' would have it seem: for example, Lindsay supported

William Dobell Sir William Dobell (24 September 189913 May 1970) was an Australian portrait and landscape artist of the 20th century. Dobell won the Archibald Prize, Australia's premier award for portrait artists on three occasions. The Dobell Prize is named ...

during the court case over his

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

-winning portrait of Joshua Smith.

Death

Lindsay died in Melbourne on 22 May 1961. His autobiography, ''Comedy of Life'', was published posthumously.

Legacy

The Lionel Lindsay Art Gallery and Library, in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

, 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 (25 February 1855 – 20 December 1917) was an Australian artist, art teacher and prominent member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, McCubb ...

Arthur Streeton Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton (8 April 1867 – 1 September 1943) was an Australian landscape painter and a leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. Early life Streeton was born in Mt Moriac, Victoria, sou ...

Tom Roberts Thomas William Roberts (8 March 185614 September 1931) was an English-born Australian artist and a key member of the Heidelberg School art movement, also known as Australian impressionism. After studying in Melbourne, he travelled to Europe i ...

and

Rupert Bunny Rupert Charles Wulsten Bunny (29 September 186425 May 1947) was an Australian painter. Born and raised in Melbourne, Victoria, he achieved success and critical acclaim as an expatriate in '' fin-de-siècle'' Paris. He gained an honourable mentio ...

. The library and gallery was established by local transport owner and philanthropist Bill Bolton MBE (1905–1973).

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).

References

*Bernard Smith,

,

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

, Volume 10, MUP, 1986, pp 106–115.

External links

Linsday's works
in the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

Lindsay's works
in the

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, Canberra
Lionel Lindsay Art Gallery and Library

Biography
Josef Lebovic Gallery, Sydney *

CC-By-SA A Creative Commons (CC) license is one of several public copyright license A public license or public copyright licenses is a license by which a copyright holder as licensor can grant additional copyright permissions to any and all pers ...

] {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay, Lionel 1874 births 1961 deaths Australian etchers People from Creswick, Victoria Australian Knights Bachelor 20th-century Australian painters 20th-century Australian male artists Lionel 20th-century printmakers Australian male painters Artists from Victoria (state) National Gallery of Victoria Art School alumni