Who Follows? – No. 289 of 550 – SOLD

Tiffany’s Research Notes on “Who Follows?”:

Norman Lindsay’s wife Rose was the model for this work, which has been faithfully reproduced from the etching that Norman created in 1927.

Rose Lindsay was an important figure in Norman’s life as not only did she pose for many of his works (including 18 etchings which feature single figure nudes), she also learnt the pain-staking method of printing all of Norman’s etchings. During her lifetime is it estimated that she printed a staggering 11,000 separate prints!

Before marrying Norman, Rose worked as a professional artist’s model in Sydney and was acknowledged as one of the best because of her beauty and strength, which allowed her to hold a pose for a long time.

The etching “Who Follows?” was selected by the Australian Government to hang in the Australian Pavilion in Paris at the major international exposition, ‘L’Exposition Internationale de Paris, in 1937.  Original etchings of “Who Follows?” are represented at the Art Gallery of South Australia and the Mitchell Library at the State Library of NSW.

This work also displays Norman Lindsay’s unique application of the etching technique, stipple.  Stipple is the use of a multitude of fine dots, flicks or small strokes to create line and tonal effects. Stipple effects are normally created by using an etching tool called a roulette wheel.  However, Norman who was well known for his superb hand control, preferred to make each individual dot with his own etching needle, in order to have more control over the delicacy of the finished image.