Norman Lindsay

On March 23, 1900, Norman Lindsay married Kathleen Agatha Parkinson, sister of his journalist friend Ray Parkinson. The couple had three sons, namely, Jack, Raymond and Philip. His career and drive for the arts could not save his failing marriage and the couple divorced in 1918.

He married Rose Soady, a model, in 1920. The couple had two daughters; Jane and Helen.

Norman Lindsay passed away on 21 November 1969, at the age of 90 in Springwood and was buried in Springwood Cemetery. His son Jack and two daughters were his surviving children as his other sons had predeceased him.

Norman Alfred William Lindsay was born on 22 February 1879, in Creswick, Victoria, to Robert Charles William Alexander Lindsay and Jane Elizabeth Lindsay. His father was a surgeon.

He was one among 10 siblings (6 boys, 4 girls). Notable among his siblings were Percival “Percy” Charles, Sir Lionel Arthur, Ruby, and Sir Ernest Daryl, who all went on to achieve similar artistic success.

Norman began drawing to keep himself occupied when a blood disorder forced him to remain indoors. Regular visits to the Ballarat Fine Arts Public Gallery with his grandfather fueled his interests further and in 1893, he joined Walter Withers’ outdoor painting classes.

He received his education from Creswick Grammar School. He was part of the editorial team of its unofficial magazine, ‘Boomerang’.

His brother Lionel advised him to take drawing classes at the National Gallery School in 1895. Norman then moved to Melbourne and worked as an illustrator for ‘Hawklet’, a weekly publication.

Norman Lindsay’s career began at the age of 16. He worked as a ghost illustrator for his brother Lionel at the ‘Hawklet’. Of the 35 shillings Lionel received per week, he gave 10 to Norman. Norman later became a cartoonist and illustrator at ‘Hawklet’.

During his Charterisville stay, he began pen-and-ink illustrations inspired by the garden and created ‘The Idylls of Theocritus’ and ‘The Decameron’ drawings.

He established a weekly called ‘Rambler’ with his friend and later brother-in-law, journalist Ray Parkinson, in 1899. Financed by John Elkington, the weekly published jokes, theatre gossip, and drama reviews, but failed after a few issues.

The death of Ernest Moffitt, a longtime friend and influence led him to create ‘A Consideration of the Art of Ernest Moffitt’ in 1899 that displayed his Arcadian symbolism and decorative use of the nude.

His ‘Decameron’ drawings, in 1900, earned a positive review from Alfred George Stephens, a critic at the ‘Bulletin’. Journalist Jules François Archibald even requested him to provide illustrations for the paper. Norman joined the ‘Bulletin’ as a staff artist for £6 a week. Barring a few breaks, his association with the publication lasted over fifty years.

One of his famous books is ‘The Magic Pudding’ written in 1917. Still in print, the book has been translated into Japanese, German, French, and Spanish. His only other children’s book is ‘Flyaway Highway’ which was published in 1936.

His novel, ‘Redheap’ portraying life in the country was banned for 28 years due to censorship laws. Today, however, it is regarded as one of the great Australian classics.