During his long creative
life Norman Lindsay produced works in many media, but pencil was
the only one he used continuously from childhood to old age. If,
as is often said, it is drawing which best demonstrates the strength
of any artist, then the collection of over three hundred and sixty
pencil drawings in this book provides a unique opportunity to assess
the man and his methods.
The earliest drawing reproduced in this book was done in 1889,
when he was ten years old; the latest, in 1969, the year he died
at the
age of ninety. Thus these drawings, spanning eighty years of creative
development, enable the reader to trace the evolution of Lindsay’s
style throughout his life. The drawings have been carefully selected
to demonstrate both Lindsay’s draughtsmanship and the range
of his subject matter. There are pages from his voluminous sketchbooks
in which he recorded details of subjects from animals to armour;
preliminary sketches for what later became major works in oil, watercolour
and pen; minutely detailed drawings for etchings; rough sketches
showing his notes for colour plans; and pencil portraits which are
works of art in their own right. Most of the drawings, however, are
from the model, both male and female. His drawings of figures convey
the spirit as well as the likeness of the model and have in common
with his other pencil works great vitality and spontaneity.
The text complements the drawings, weaving into the book excerpts
from Norman Lindsay’s life and providing insights into his
relationships with his family, friends and models. There are also
many comments from Lindsay’s own writings and from his artistically-gifted
family and contemporaries — on his techniques, his artistic
philosophy and the imagery used in many of his drawings — which
help to illuminate the work of this extraordinary Australian artist.
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