Rose Lindsay (1885–1978), née Rosa Soady, was an Australian artist's model, author, and printmaker.

Early life

Rose Lindsay (née Soady) was born at

Gosford Gosford is the city and administrative centre of the Central Coast Council local government area in the heart of the Central Coast region, about north of Sydney and about south of Newcastle. The city centre is situated at the northern extr ...

, New South Wales on 5 July 1885 and named Rosa. Her parents were John and Rosa Soady.

Career

Artist's model

She was introduced to

Norman Lindsay Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxing, boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his ...

in 1902 by

Julian Rossi Ashton Julian Rossi Ashton (27 January 185127 April 1942) was an English-born Australian artist and teacher. He is best known for founding the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney and encouraging Australian painters to capture local life and scenery '' ...

, and began modeling for Lindsay that same year. She became his principal model and later his lover, and after his marriage ended she joined him in London in 1910. She was Lindsay's business manager and most recognizable model, as well as being the printer for most of his etchings. In 1913 a pen-and-ink drawing she had posed for called ''Crucified Venus'' was shown at the Society of Artists' exhibition in Melbourne, but the Melbourne committee removed it from public view due to scandal over its eroticism. However,

, who was the president of the Society of Artists, said he would withdraw all the New South Wales paintings from the exhibit unless ''Crucified Venus'' was shown again, and it was put back up within the week. Rose also modeled for

Harold Cazneaux Harold Pierce Cazneaux (30 March 1878 – 19 June 1953) was an Australian pictorialist photographer; a pioneer whose style had an indelible impact on the development of Australian photographic history. In 1916, he was a founding member of the ...

, Sydney Long,

Dattilo Rubbo Antonio Salvatore Dattilo Rubbo (Napoli 21 June 1870 – Sydney 1 June 1955) was an Italian-born artist and art teacher active in Australia from 1897. Rubbo, or Dattilo-Rubbo, was born in Naples in 1870, and spent his early childhood in the N ...

, and Sydney Ure Smith. In 1926 Rayner Hoff sculpted a statue of her. Pictures of her are in Australia's National Portrait Gallery.

Printmaker

Rose was a skilled printmaker working with an etching press. In the 1960s Rose compiled seven albums of hundreds of pencil sketches and proof etchings by Norman Lindsay, an almost complete record of his etchings from the early 1900s until the 1950s.

Author

Rose wrote two autobiographical books in her seventies. ''Ma and Pa'' (1963) and ''Model Wife'' (1967) were later republished in a single volume as ''Rose Lindsay: A Model Life'' (2001).

Personal life

Rose and Norman bought a house and built a studio at Springwood, and famous people including

Miles Franklin Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (14 October 187919 September 1954), known as Miles Franklin, was an Australian writer and feminist who is best known for her novel ''My Brilliant Career'', published by Blackwoods of Edinburgh in 1901. While ...

Henry Lawson Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...

Nellie Melba Dame Nellie Melba (born Helen Porter Mitchell; 19 May 186123 February 1931) was an Australian operatic dramatic coloratura soprano (three octaves). She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era and the early 20th centur ...

, and

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...

visited them. They married in 1920, though their marriage was held two weeks before Norman's divorce became absolute. They had two children, Helen and Janet. In 1973 the Springwood property was bought by the National Trust of Australia and became the

Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum The Norman Lindsay Gallery and Museum is a heritage-listed former residence and farmlet and now art gallery, tourist attraction and museum located at 14-20 Norman Lindsay Crescent, in the Blue Mountains town of Faulconbridge in the City of Bl ...

. Rose Lindsay died on 23 May 1978 at an

aged care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often call ...

home in

Lane Cove Lane Cove is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Lane Cove is nine kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local governmen ...

.Norman Lindsay's Widow Dies in Sydney, ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', (Wednesday, 24 May 1978), p.8.
/ref>