Australian Artists - Lionel Lindsay - The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954) - 4 Dec 1920 (original) (raw)

No reliable art history ot the future

can "afford to lgnoro tho influenco of

the Lindsays on tho art and litera

ture 'oC Australia for no family bus

had such a record of high achievement.

Tho oldest son of tho lato Dr. Lind

say. Lionel, was born at Crcswiclc, '.Vic

toria, In 3874, and attended tho local

schools for Ills primary education. At

tho ago of- fifteen ho became a pupil

assistant at tho Melbourne Observa

tory during tho lato Mr Ellery's term

of ofil'co as Astronomer Royal. But liko

Artcmus Ward ho soon found that

playing "boss" or mathematician was

not his forto. As Whistler onco said,

"It Sllonium hud only consented to bo

a gas, I would havo been a great,

So young Lindsay loft the Ohsorva-I

tury and engaged in a species ot free

laneo journalism, drawing for yariotis

papers to keep tho pot boiling, and,

during tho evenings, studying at tho

National Gallery. It. was during tills

period that he lived in lodgings with

George Coatcs, now in Paris, and

famous as a portrait . painter. With

them was Hugh M'Lean, a follow stu

dent and amateur boxer. It was a

valuable experience, its Lionel Lindsay

gleefully admitted, for lib Uvftd in

thirty-seven different lodgings In Mel

bourne In les? than that number of

months. But lodgings hi those ciays

wero cheap— nbout tjyo and sixpence a

week for rooins'ln Collins street. Lliul-i

say's tusk It was to provide1 for tho

party and many mornings lie rose at

daybreak and visited ytlie markets for

cheap fruit— not, of cuurso, that they

wero rabid vegetarians, biit solely for

the sake of economy. Indeed there

used to be a Cannibal Club, of which t

also was a member. It included Lionel

and Norman Lindsay; Max Meldrum.

then a rosy-cheeked youngster full of

jest and hilarity; George Coates, who

mostly seemed to subsist on tea and

cigarettes In order to save all his

money to buy paints and canvas; Alee

Sass; and Leon Pole,' who- used, to play

beautifully oil a tin whistle, and bo-

tween whiles made the most wonderful

charcoal caricatures on the walls of the

class-room find of his lodgings. It was

Another Institution of thoscdays w;is

the Ghai;tresvlHo Curnp, which was

well established. . There . was also

Fhsoli's, then a "Pension" In Lonsdale

street. Here one could meet such men

as the lato Professor Marshall Hall,

and others, who, with tho Lindsays,

were privileged guests.' The times wero

times of grenl unrest following on 1110

Maritime slriko and tho' bursting of tho

boom (1893), which may account for tho

number of .publications begun and

dropped. On the demise of one of thorn

after n short, hut merry life, Lindsay,

together with Randolph Bedford, tried

ills fortuno in West Australia' on tho

Murehlson goldllelds, supplying there

from drawings and copy for a Mel

bourne' publication. ".Back Hast again

,to Sydney, lio drew cartoons , for the

"Daily Telegraph,", and drawings for

(ho, "Bulletin." ITls most trying ex

perience was in. .Brisbane, where ho

painted 'bus signs for , a. precarious

living, under a Christmas stiii in an

Fares wore, low in those days, so

he promptly moved hack to Melbourne

to join his brothei; Normal), then a

mere boy, and helped to llhikLrate a

small publication, "Thoj, Little Hum

bler," .which raii to only 12 numbers.

These wore tho days of cheap ami

.transient publications. "The Out

post" was another for which ho work

ed. Then there was ""The Arena."

Growing more confident. Lindsay be

came sqb-editor of i'The Clarion, "

conducted by, Bedford. At tills time

ho was able to savo ii' few pounds,

with which he purposed "seeing the

world." But most people would con

sider that his past experione.es wore

giving him enough and, to spare of

world viewing. The year 3 902 saw

him at ' Marseilles, and later on lie

was coasting Spain, sojourning Ii

while at Barcelona, A'alcneia, Malaga

and Cadiz. He went thence to Seville,

whore ho . travelled about on, borso

or mule to the various bullfights and

fairs. These experiences , left a de

cided impression and gave him nil

amazing love for the Latin races gen

erally, with their fine hard-hold tradi

tions, their courtesy arid their under

Funds running, ' low Lindsay, left

Spain In a small "trh.irip""steiimer for

Scotland, where, . after seolng Glas

gow, ho travelled to London", where

finances utterly collapsed,.. Tempor

ary employment i, remedied matters,

and tho. restless ) artist returned to

Australia by < way of . Italy

and Tuscany; edified and' to

some extent disillusioned. It was

then that ho took up tho study

of etching which bus- engrossed' him

for a number of years, and has re

sulted in -some cxcollcnt plates. O.no

of Lho first admirers and purchasers

of his proofs was Arthur Stre.etori.

Today Lindsay can point to examples

of his work in three . -Australian 'Xa-

llomi.l Galleries — those of Molboiirhc,

Most' of Lionel Lindsay's reputation

today rests on his black and white

I productions. Few men have boon

gifted with such tremendous capacity

fur work, and still fewer have as

worthily utilised their powers. Hliui-

trntlon, water, color pointing, decora

tion, journalism and .art literature

havo found In him a worthy exponent.

Sumo of his excursions Into tho,; do

main of art. criticism are notiU>leV the

recent appreciation at Conrad Martens

hearing witness to ids powers.. 'This

hook will shortly ho followed by tho

New Hlldor Volume, now In the. press;

Lindsay's enreor in tho pnst lias been

ono of ceaseless work. Today he finds

'eisuro to devote to Ills duties es a

I Trustee of tho Art Gallery of New

I South Wales and as Vice-president of

I tho newly-formed Society , of Painter