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An image of Lethe Wharf by Lionel Lindsay

Lionel Lindsay

(Australia 18 Oct 1874–22 May 1961)

Title
Lethe Wharf
Year
(1938)
Media category
Print
Materials used
wood engraving, printed in black ink on white tissue
Edition
From edition of 100
Dimensions

32.4 x 17cm blockmark; 39.2 x 22.1cm sheet

Signature & date
Signed l.l., pencil "Lionel Lindsay". Not dated. Signed in block to print l.r., "LIONEL LINDSAY".
Credit
Purchased 1974
Accession number
125.1974
Copyright
© Lionel Lindsay Estate
Location
Not on display
Further information

Lionel Lindsay’s wood engravings are among the crowning achievements of his career, especially his sophisticated and stylishly designed images of animals and birds. He first experimented with the technique in 1910, buying tools from fellow artist John Mather, but did not begin to make them
in earnest until the 1920s, using discarded wood blocks from the Evening News. His most sustained influence was the work
of English wood engraver Thomas Bewick (1753–1828), both in technique and subject matter, and for technical guidance
he used a book by W J Linton, Wood engraving, a manual of instruction (1884), which urged ‘artist engravers’ to ‘cut a line
with meaning’.

Lindsay exhibited his new prints with the Society of Artists and published ‘A book of woodcuts’ in 1922, which was well
reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement, which further encouraged him. He published another book, Twenty one woodcuts in 1924, leading to his friendship with Harold Wright, an influential English art dealer who responded to them with enthusiasm, cementing his reputation as an significant and international talent. Lindsay’s wood engravings remain some of the most distinctive and memorable prints made in Australia in period prior to the Second World War.

from Anne Ryan, 'Australian etchings and engravings 1880s–1930s from the Gallery's collection', AGNSW, Sydney 2007

Bibliography (4)

Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Australian etchings and engravings 1880s–1930s from the Gallery's collection, Domain, 2007, 68, 68 (colour illus.). cat.no. 101

Grahame Kime (Australia) (Author), Heaven on earth: Visions of arcadia, Gymea, 2005. List of works; not paginated

Deborah Edwards (Australia) (Author), Stampede of the Lower Gods: Classical Mythology in Australian Art, Domain, Sep 1989, 65. titled "The Lethe Wharf"

Christine Dixon (Author), Dinah Dysart (Australia) (Author), Counterclaims: presenting Australian art 1938-1941, Sydney, 1986, 47. cat.no. AAA33

Exhibition history (6)

Australian Academy of Art 1938, Vickery's Galleries, 08 Apr 1938–29 Apr 1938.

Australian Academy of Art and the Contemporary Art Society (1986), S.H. Ervin Gallery, 15 May 1986–16 Jul 1986.

Stampede of the Lower Gods: Classical Mythology in Australian Art 1890's-1930's, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 19 Oct 1989–26 Nov 1989.

The Legendary Lindsays, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 Jan 1995–26 Feb 1995.

The Legendary Lindsays, City of Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, 10 Mar 1995–30 Apr 1995.

Heaven on Earth: Visions of Arcadia, Hazelhurst Regional Gallery and Arts Centre, 01 Oct 2005–27 Nov 2005.