Biografia
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. == Early life == Norman Lindsay was born in Creswick, Victoria, the fifth child of an Anglo-Irish doctor, Robert Charles William Alexander Lindsay (1843–1915) and his wife, Jane Elizabeth Lindsay (1848–1932). Jane Lindsay was the eldest daughter of the Thomas Williams, an amateur artist, who became a significant presence in the life of his Creswick grandchildren. The Lindsay children were all encouraged to draw. Percy Lindsay (1870–1952), Lionel Lindsay (1874–1961), Ruby Lindsay (1885–1919), and Daryl Lindsay (1889–1976) all became professional artists and drawings by Isabel Lindsay are in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ballarat. For some years, it was a comfortable life for the Lindsays. Their wooden house, Lisnacrieve, was extended to accommodate the growing number of children, and later their grandfather. Daryl Lindsay wrote of the large vegetable garden, the paddock with a cow for fresh milk, the sitting room lined with books, and their mother encouraging the children to draw. For some years, Norman had a skin condition that reacted badly to the sun, so he spent more time indoors than his siblings, and drew. Norman described his older sister, Mary, as "the dominant figure of my infant days". He was slow at learning to read, so she read to him. == Career == The comfortable family life of the Lindsays ended in the early 1890s when Dr Lindsay's investments and savings were eliminated with the banking crisis. After Lionel moved to Melbourne on the half-promise of work as an illustrator, Norman pleaded to join him. In 1895, after Lionel agreed to look after him, Norman left Creswick for Melbourne. His talent for drawing was soon recognised. In Nov
