NORMAN LINDSAY

The brother of the present owner won the watercolour from the Norman Lindsay Memorial Art Union in November 1970.   
Private collection, Melbourne

Gold timber frame with beige linen mat and gold and white timber mount. Areas of foxing across much of the figure. Slight 'waves' across the the paper would indicate the wotk is not laid down - although it has not been removed from the frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Summertime was the prize in The Norman Lindsay Memorial Art Union Lottery conducted by the Blue Mountains City Council on behalf of The National Trust for the Norman Lindsay Memorial Appeal, drawn on 18 November 1970. The National Trust had recently bought Lindsay's house 'Springwood' for $50,000 and the $3,500 raised from the lottery was to go towards its restoration.

In Australian art, nudes and Norman Lindsay are synonymous. Even after all these years he reigns supreme. His delight in the naked female flesh is genuine, and he generously shares it with his viewer. As in this painting, they are invariably voluptuous, complemented with touches of the coquette. The large hat adorns the figure with a touch of fashion and favour just as a halo crowns the saintly and holy. The lady's look is direct, challenging and beguiling, designed to entrap the male ego. Moreover, the garden setting invites private intimacy. To add to his mastery of gentle eroticism, Lindsay allows dappled sunlight to play across the figure, enticing the eye to follow suit and the mind to invent. A curiosity about eroticism in art is its dependence on fashion, if not style.  

A glorious Titian nude that drew the admiring glances of eighteenth century gentlemen raises no eyebrows today, nor does a comely ankle revealed beneath a flowing dress. Lindsay's appeal survives so successfully amid the millions of voyeur delights of the early twenty first century. It all depends on titillation. He almost worshipped the female figure, and saw bodily beauty and sexual freedom as most admirable in his battle against wowserism and censorship. His favourite models - wife Rose and the captivating Rita - evoked riches for the eye that were adorned to attract. Others, like Phyllis Silverwood, who swam naked, found posing in the nude by still waters entirely natural. Lindsay painted many hatted nudes in sunlit seclusion. 

Hats are like siren crowns, as also garments that tantalise through intimate revelations. Lindsay used the hat trick again to splendid effect in the related 1948 watercolour, The Blue Hat, smartly spotted with white dots. The figures of these ladies retain appeal through their underlying classical references styled in modish presentation.