“Spoil” was etched in 1937, late in Norman Lindsay’s etching career, and comes from a small edition of only 40 copies, making it rarer than many of his other original etching editions that numbered to 55. As boys and young developing artists, Norman and his older brother Lionel were fascinated by pirates and tales of adventures on the sea, inspired by the novels they’d read. Humorously too, when the brothers were seeking inspiration for their first works as young adults, rum was their choice of drink to stir their imaginations. Several of Norman’s artworks feature buccaneers, pirates, booty, mermaids, galleons of the sea, alien lands, and the spoils of capture as seen here in “Spoil”. Norman was also fascinated with the lost city of Atlantis, and he built many ship models for relaxation.
