Lindsay, Norman, 1879-1969

Norman Alfred Williams Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, cartoonist, sculptor, polemicist, novelist, and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his generation, Lindsay attracted both acclaim and controversy for his works, many of which infused the Australian landscape with erotic pagan elements and were deemed by his critics to be "anti-Christian, anti-social and degenerate". A vocal nationalist, he drew a weekly cartoon for The Bulletin from 1900 to 1958 . As with many artists and writers of his generation he was profoundly influenced by the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche and advanced staunchly anti-modernist views as on Australian art. When friend and literary critic Bertram Stevens argued that children like to read about fairies rather than food, Lindsay wrote and illustrated The Magic Pudding (1918), now considered a classic work of Australian children's literature. Apart from his creative output, Lindsay was known for his larrikin attitudes and personal libertine philosophy, as well as his battles with what he termed "wowserism" (strict moral conservatism). On his death, Lindsay's home in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney was left to the National Trust of Australia and is now known as the Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum.