General News
3 May, 2022
Norman Linsday exhibit to inspire gallery visitors
Horsham Regional Art Gallery and local lenders partner up to launch the Norman Linsday exhibit.
ART fans with a passion for Australian icons will be captivated by the many works of Norman Lindsay now on display at Horsham Regional Art Gallery from April 23 to July 10.
Linsday was seen by many as the epitome of the bohemian artist who paved a unique lifestyle and artistic vision during the early 20th Century.
Horsham Regional Art Gallery director Jane Scott said Lindsay was an artist who pushed the boundaries of art during a time when imagery of the kind was controversial.
“Norman Lindsay is probably one of Australia’s iconic artists,” she said.
“In the early 20th Century he became very famous for both his bohemian lifestyle and his insistence of painting nude artwork which, at the time, was very controversial.
“He caused a lot of stir, not only within the arts community, but communities in general.”
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The exhibit features some of Lindsay’s most finest works, including photos and painting spanning over his career.
Ms Scott said many of the pieces on display at the gallery are thanks to the support of many Horsham residents.
“The exhibition itself really explores his early photography which he took in 1911,” she said.
“He used those as models in staging, posing, and experimenting with movement. You can see a direct correlation between the photographs and the paintings that are in the exhibition.
“The paintings in this show have come from some local lenders; people here in Horsham that actually own some Norman Lindsay drawings. But there are also loans from Sydney and Melbourne collectors, as well as some having been supplied by Melbourne University.”
Aside from his celebrated reputation as an artist, Lindsay is also famously known for writing one Australia’s greatest literary gifts, The Magic Pudding.
Ms Scott said the most important thing was to see what Lindsay was doing during a time very different to today’s society.
“At the time, the standards were very different to what they are now,” she said.
“What’s interesting is that today, given the internet with all the exposure we have, we can look at Norman Lindsay and his works and see them as delightful and charming depictions.
“You just have to reflect back into 1911 Australia and know that what he was doing was breaking the rules. That’s the exciting part about Norman Lindsay.”