Art and the Body- Norman Lindsay

I know Norman Lindsay is by no means a contemporary artist but i could not resist blogging about him, seeing as i live and work so close to his magnificent residence!
Lindsay was originally born in 1879 and died in 1969. He is widely regarded as one of Australia's greatest artists, producing a vast body of work in different media, including pen drawing, etching, watercolour, oil and sculptures in concrete and bronze.

A large amount of his work is housed in his former home at Faulconbridge, NSW, (right down the road from where i work), and is now known as the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum. Many works reside in private and corporate collections. His art continues to climb in value today. In 2002, a record price was attained by his oil painting, Spring's Innocence, which sold to the National Gallery of Victoria for $AU333,900.

Lindsay was intrigued with the human body, especially the womans physique. Many of his sculptures and paintings were simply of naked women sprawled out in lush, green gardens, inevitably depicting his male fantasies. Heartney quotes in Art and Today the writings of John Berger "Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at." Further down in the article it is noted that the subject of traditional paintings of the female nude, tend to be arranged in poses that accentuate their accessibility to the unseen and presumably the male viewer. By extension then, the female nude has become one of western art's most popular subjects because it flatters men by reinforcing their dominance while relegating women to the rule of fantasy objects. This perception is made highly evident through Lindsay's art.

In 1902 he met Rose Soady and she would become his second wife, his most recognizable model, his business manager, and the printer for most of his etchings.

His frank and sumptuous nudes were highly controversial for the times. In 1940, Rose took 16 crates of paintings, drawings and etchings to the U.S. to protect them from the nascent war. Unfortunately they were discovered when the train they tra men by reinforcing tvelled in caught fire, they were then impounded and burned as pornography by American officials.

Though his works can be seen as sexist, he still managed to produce beautiful sculptures, paintings and etchings that not only show insight into the male perspective but depict the human body in all its glory! I highly suggest that when you visit the mountains, you take the time to go to the gallery. Its truly beautiful art and the grounds on which it resides are astounding.