Rose Lindsay (née Soady, 1885–1978), artist’s model and author, posed for Sydney Long, Antonio Dattilo Rubbo, Julian Ashton, Fred Leist and several other artists before she met Norman Lindsay in 1902. By 1903 she was installed in his studio rooms in Rowe Street, Sydney, as his model and lover, and in 1912 she moved with him to the property near Springwood in the Blue Mountains which became their home for much of the next 60 years. They married in 1920. Rose continued as Lindsay's principal model, becoming possibly the most frequently painted woman in the history of Australian art. She wrote two books on her life, Ma and Pa: My Childhood Memories (1963) and Model Wife: my life with Norman Lindsay (1967).
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Purchased 2008
Accession number: 2008.89
Currently on display: Gallery Four (Liangis Gallery)
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On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Harold Cazneaux's portraits of influential Sydneysiders included Margaret Preston and Ethel Turner, both important figures in the development of ideas about Australian identity and culture.
Anthony Browell reminisces about meeting Rose Lindsay, the wife of Australian artist Norman Lindsay.
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