More Robin Hoods?

Some past Robin Hoods

Above is another of Laurence's wonderful montages. This image ties-in nicely with the latest news coming out of Hollywood.

The myth of Robin Hood  has existed for more than six hundred years, spreading from its modest medieval beginnings to every conceivable form of todays media and entertainment. But even that fact does not account for the unprecedented announcement that no less than four versions of the classic tale are due from America's film factory.

More images of a legend

1. Firstly Lionsgate have a new motion picture, Robin Hood:Origins in production that will have a similar format to their successfully gritty Batman Begins of 2005.
2. Warner Brothers - who in 1938 produced the classic version starring Errol Flynn - are planning a new movie about the outlaw.
3. From ballad hero to superman? Sony intend to turn Robin's band of medieval outlaws into Marvel style action hero's in their up and coming flick.
4. And last, but no-means least are Disney. Yes, this will be their third look at the legend. The first and by far the best was of course The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952). Then, in 1973 they visited Sherwood again with the hero portrayed by a fox in an animated cartoon version. Now they have Nottingham & Hood, on their books, which they hope will launch a new adventure franchise rather like their lucrative Pirates of the Caribbean.

The legend lives on.. 

I would be interested to hear your opinions on these future movies.

Montages

Above is the wonderful montage by Laurence of Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood (which I now use as the header for the Facebook site). Regular readers will be aware of Laurence's input. He created the fantastic picture strip of the film that allowed us fans to relieve its magical moments. You can see those picture strips here.

The first page of the picture strip

Below is Laurence's autograph collection of the stars of Disney's Story of Robin Hood which we are all very envious of!

After reading on this blog that Ivanhoe (1952) was a favourite movie of mine, Laurence kindly sent in a fabulous montage of that film.

And below are a couple of other montages that Laurence created a few years ago of Walt Disney's live-action movies.

Disney's Rob Roy (1953)

Disney's Treasure Island (1951)



There is more of Laurence's work to follow.

Hollywood Plan Two New Robin Hood Movies?

Richard Todd in Disney's 'Story of Robin Hood'

I have been very busy this last few weeks working with my partner on our Rosa Mundi Craft Stall at various Christmas Fairs. So this will have to be a brief post. But I could not avoid commenting on the news that Hollywood are planning two new Robin Hood movies. In particular a new Disney version! (Which will be their third interpretation of the legend).

This is from 'Deadline':

Hollywood is planning rival blockbusters about Robin Hood, just four years after Russell Crowe’s turn as the iconic English outlaw failed to capture the imagination of cinemagoers.

Sony reportedly paid $2m in October for a script titled Hood, pitched as a jumping off point for a huge Avengers-style Robin Hood “universe”. Now rival studio Disney has picked up the screenplay for Nottingham & Hood, described as a revisionist take on the famous outlaw with franchise potential.

Both projects will hope to avoid the calamities which hit Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood, starring a suspiciously Irish-sounding Crowe as a new version of the hero. A proposed shoot had to be abandoned in 2008 following concern that the leaves in the location doubling for Sherwood Forest would not be green enough. The following year, actor Sienna Miller left the project amid reports that the English star’s youth and slim figure were showing up the Gladiator actor’s age and expanding girth.

Scott’s film was originally titled Nottingham and pitched as a revisionist take with Crowe as a good Sheriff of Nottingham and Christian Bale as an evil Hood. But by the time it eventually arrived on the big screen, the veteran British director had plumped for a more traditional take and Bale had exited the project."

And also:

"Disney wants to give the “Pirates of the Caribbean" treatment to the legend of Robin Hood. The studio that owns Marvel, the Star Wars universe, and basically everything else in the world that you love, has purchased a pitch from writer Brandon Barker called “Nottingham & Hood,” produced by The Picture Company’s Andrew Rona and Alex Heineman.

One assumes that the movie is as the title suggests — a story of adventurous archer Robin Hood’s exploits in Sherwood Forest, and his rivalry with the Sheriff of Nottingham. Exact details aren’t known, but Deadline says the script “has a ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ tone and the hope is to launch a new adventure franchise that fits Disney’s global brand.”

In other words, just as Robin has his bow aimed at evildoers, so too is Disney targeting a big new franchise for its fans around the world. We’ll have to wait and see if their take on Robin Hood has any of the off-kilter charm that the bumbling Jack Sparrow boasts."

This is from another website:

"In one heck of an eye-popping move, Sony is in the midst of making a seven-figure deal to buy a pitch centering on Robin Hood.

Cory Goodman and Jeremy Lott are behind the pitch, which is titled Hood.

The figure for the deal, according to sources, is $1 million against $2 million, while producer deals are still being negotiated. 

One reason for the high price is that the pitch involves the magic words “universe” and “Avengers.” The plan is to make a series of movies focusing on the outlaw archer and his band of Merry Men: Little John, Friar Tuck and Will Scarlett. One could say they were the superhero team of England’s Middle Ages. The tone of the story has been described as Mission: Impossible and the recent Fast & Furious movies. Michael De Luca brought the project and will oversee for the studio."

So it seems that once again the legend will get a new 'face lift'  (possibly two) by Hollywood producers for the next generation of movie goers. As someone that has had a life-long interest in Robin Hood I will wait eagerly to see how they interpret those ancient stories.

Joan Rice and Richard Todd as Marian and Robin

Readers of this blog will no doubt be extremely interested in how Disney's third Robin Hood will turn out. Please let me know what you think!

Story of Robin Hood Montage

Isn't this a fabulous montage of our favourite film!

It was sent in to me this week by Laurence and shows the main characters from Walt Disney's live-action movie The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952).This colourful depiction of a forest scene has already become very popular on our Facebook Page.

Four years ago Laurence also created a wonderful picture strip of the whole movie. His skilful adaption was hugely popular with the readers and ran to forty two separate pages. The first page of the strip can be seen below.

Page one of Laurence's picture strip of the movie.

To see the complete picture strip of Disney's Story of Robin Hood please click here. Or click on Picture Strip in the task bar.

Mystery Picture

Mike has recently sent in this unusual movie still from his collection (shown above). It is taken from Walt Disney's live-action film, the Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men (1952) and he has asked if I was able to confirm the particular scene.

In the background we can see what appears to be the castle walls and the back - end of a cannon. Both men are wearing the Sheriff of Nottingham's livery and the figure being dragged off his horse seems to be Richard Todd (Robin Hood). 

After closer scrutiny and a look through Laurence's excellent picture strip to identify the moment (see Number 37), I have come to the same conclusion as Mike.

The picture was taken during the filming at Denham Studios of Robin Hood's escape from Nottingham Castle after being betrayed by the Sheriff.  Robin is pulled from his horse by one of the castle wardens and this leads to the dramatic scene  near the end of the movie where the Sheriff (Peter Finch) is eventually crushed to death by the closing drawbridge.

Mike was puzzled as to why the image was so light considering the dramatic scene was set during night time? If any readers can help, please comment below.

Robin Hood by Alexandre Dumas

 

 

 

It is always nice to hear from visitors to this blog and receive their comments and input. So I am extremely grateful to Christian Roy - one of our regular readers - for sending me this image and email.

 

"Dear Clement,

It might be of interest to you to know that a French pocketbook intended for young people (from 14 on), called Marabout Junior, was available in the 50s.

The 2nd issue (of many to follow) was devoted to the novel called Robin des Bois, le Proscrit, which was written by Alexandre Dumas of Three Muskeeters fame. It may be doubtful though it was written by him.

 

Anyway, the cover of the Marabout book is interesting in that it acknowledges the source, that is to say the 1952 Disney RKO Picture.

In its own right, it is also a beautiful colourful depiction of my favourite film of all times!

 

Hope it is a worthy addition to your collection, also to share with fans."
(Christian Roy)

 

Many thanks Christian. The image on the book cover has been taken from the poster that originally advertised the film. We have seen various examples of this happening since this blog started and although this particular book cover had permission by Disney, many products did not. This forced the Disney organisation to later enforce strict copyright laws on all their products.

Le Prince des Voleurs (The Prince of Thieves) was written by Alexandre Dumas and published in 1872 (after his death in 1870) in an edition of his complete works (published and edited by Michel Levy, 1862-89).

 

 

 

Robin Hood in Mickey Mouse Weekly

Part of my collection of memorabilia from Walt Disney's movie the Story of Robin Hood are two copies of Mickey Mouse Weekly. This was a weekly tabloid comic that ran from the late 1930s and was first published by Willbank Publications and later Odhams Press in London. It was the first British comic to use the expensive colour photogravure process.

The two copies that I own date from the time of the release of the live-action movie in 1952.  But sadly I am not sure who the artist was that illustrated the strip (it could have been Jessie Marsh). So perhaps my readers might be able to help?

The colourful strip featured below appeared on the back page of Mickey Mouse Weekly weekending July 12th 1952. 

There is a lot more information on the various comic strip versions of Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood here.

Italian Robin Hood Sweet Tin

 

 

This Italian sweet tin has recently been on EBay and is undoubtedly been inspired by Walt Disney's Story of Robin Hood (1952). Although there are no markings to indicate it as genuine Disney 

merchandise, it has been based on stills from the live-action movie.

Robin Hood Autograph Collection

I expect a lot of my regular readers, like myself, will look upon this collection of autographs and images from the Story of Robin Hood, with admiration and envy. The picture of this wonderful display was sent in by Laurence and shows his fondness for Disney's Technicolor masterpiece.

Paragon Figurine of Robin Hood

This porcelain figurine of Robin Hood sitting on a tree stump is from the Sherwood Forest Series by Paragon (1919-1960). 

The Paragon China Company was a bone china manufacturer, based in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent. Previously known as the Star China Company, and more recently part of the Royal Doulton group. Paragon produced high quality teaware and tableware, and was granted royal warrants by several members of the British Royal Family.

Paragon's 'Sherwood Forest' series included a Friar Tuck, Alan-a-Dale and Maid Marian; each member of the outlaw band was about twenty centimeters high. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a date for the production of this beautifuly made character, but I can't help thinking this figurine was based on Walt Disney's live-action Robin Hood played by Richard Todd.

Robin Hood Flour Promotion

This beautifully illustrated poster was yet another of the many promotions for Walt Disney’s live-action movie the ‘Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men’ (1952).

Included in the promotion of the film were three (?) giveaway small comic books, 7.25 inches tall x 5 inches wide and printed by Western Publishing. The first free comic was ‘The Miller’s Ransom,’ followed by the ‘Ghosts of Waylea Castle', the third is sadly unknown. The comics were written by Don Christensen and illustrated by Tony Sgroi and Russ Manning.

‘Robin Hood Flour' was founded in 1900 by Donald Mclean in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in western Canada. In 1909 the mill was taken over by Francis Atherton Bean of Minneapolis and within two years it was producing over 1,600 barrels of flour a day.

Using the green and red ‘archer’ emblem as a sign of good value and respectability, Robin Hood Flour and its recipes have remained popular for over a century. In the late 50’s and early 1960’s the company even used a jingle made from the theme tune of the classic TV series ‘The Adventures of Robin Hood.’

Who Was Your Favourite Robin Hood ?

For quite a while this survey has appeared on my blog and I feel it’s now time to reveal the winner! I have had 395 people take part in this poll and the winner with 96 votes is Michael Praed of the 80’s TV series ‘Robin of Sherwood.’ In second place with 86 votes was Errol Flynn in the classic Hollywood movie the ‘Adventures of Robin Hood.’ Jonas Armstrong’s portrayal of the outlaw in the recent BBC series earned him third place with 68 votes.

Our Richard Todd who appeared in Disney’s live action masterpiece received 45 votes which gave him fourth place. From the golden age of television, Richard Greene’s Robin Hood was given 38 votes and Russell Crowe’s most recent depiction gained him 19 votes. Kevin Costner’s 'Prince of Thieves' reached seventh place with 11 votes.

Eighth and just ahead of his father is Jason Connery who took over from Michael Praed in 'Robin of Sherwood'. Sean Connery is ninth with his portrayal of an old Robin Hood with 7 votes and in those green tights and with 6 votes is Cary Elwes, from Mel Brooks’s hilarious movie.

One of the most underrated versions of the legend featured Patrick Bergin as the outlaw, and he received 3 votes. Cornel Wilde, Barrie Ingham and Martin Potter just got 2 votes each and John Derek and Matthew Porretta had one apiece. From the silent era of Hollywood, Douglas Fairbanks sadly never got a vote.

Thanks to everyone who took part in this poll and I hope you found the result as interesting as I did. Look out for the next survey which will be on your favourite Maid Marian of all time!

Michael Praed the 'Favourite Robin Hood'

Howard Pyle

Howard Pyle’s highly romanticized novel  'The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood’ has rarely been out of print since its publication by Scribner’s in 1883. His version of Robin Hood and his men’s mystic life has long influenced American writers and illustrators and continues to influence modern film producers to this day.

I have always had an interest in book illustration and I adore his art work. He quite literally breathes life into the legend in a way that was never done before. Writing his own text based on the chapbooks and garlands and combining strength of line and decorative detail, Pyle created 23 unforgettably beautiful sets of full-page illustrations in the tradition of William Morris.

The language he uses is ‘quasi-medieval’ and he honestly admits that this adventure in ‘the land of fancy’ is ‘bound by nothing but a few odd strands of certain old ballads (snipped and clipped and tied together in a score of knots).’ He created a marvelous simplistic medieval world that would herald the massive transition of the Robin Hood legend into children’s books and comics.’ The timing of the publication of Pyles’s ‘Adventures of Robin Hood’ coincided with the gradual acceptance of English literature as a required subject by British education committees. School teachers and administrators began turning to the Robin Hood tales as a means of providing students with an easy-to-understand positive overview of their English heritage.

His text included all the elements that are now considered essential to the legend, including Robin’s fight over a river with Little John, the archery contest for the Golden Arrow, the lavish feast in Sherwood Forest, the killing of Guy of Gisborne, Friar Tuck carrying Robin across a stream and King Richard being waylaid by the outlaws and their eventual pardon.

Pyle’s ‘Adventures of Robin Hood’ was specifically designed for American boys. His re-telling of the ancient legend depicts a hero’s life without rules, where ‘boys’ could roam the hills, explore the forest and feast in the fun of the outdoor life that he had experienced or dreamed of as a child. His interpretation of the legend is uniquely his own and is no doubt influenced by listening to the works of Scott and Ritson. The dialogue he uses is peppered with ‘thees’ and ‘thous,’ terms more American Quaker than Nottinghamshire-British. Pyle never visited England.

                                          Howard Pyle with his daughter



Born in 1853, Howard Pyle grew up in a Quaker home near Wilmington, Delaware, in a house full of books where his mother often read to him and there were fields and woods to roam. He later said that his mother brightened his childhood with "an illuminating joyfulness in beautiful things." She read aloud to her children and introduced them to the Grimm fairy tales, stories from the Arabian Nights, Slovenly Peter, A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales, Robinson Crusoe, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Ritson's collection of ballads about Robin Hood. He spent hours reading illustrated novels by Dickens, Thackeray, Bunyan, and Defoe and enjoying the illustrations by Thomas Bewick, Felix Octavius Darley, and John Tenniel in Punch. His mother also exposed him to important British artists and illustrators of the 1860's including: Arthur Boyd Houghton, Charles Keene, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Holman Hunt, and Edward Burne-Jones.
 
Pyle attended the Friends' School and later a school conducted by Thomas Clarkson Taylor. But, as Pyle himself later recalled, "He spent his time largely in scrawling drawings on his slate and in his books." So realizing their son's lack of interest in studying, the Pyle's gave up their idea of sending Howard to college and instead his mother encouraged him to study art. At the age of sixteen he was commuting daily to study in Philadelphia under the Belgian artist Van der Weilen. During the next five years Pyle set up a studio at his parents’ home in Wilmington and, he continued to draw and experiment with writing in his spare time.
 
In February 1877 he received his first letter of acceptance and a check for his set of verses and illustrations about a magic pill. This was followed by his fairy tale for children in the renowned children’s magazine ‘St Nicholas’. This inspired him to write an article and eleven drawings for Scribner's Monthly in April 1877 which was also accepted.
 
At the age of 25, Pyle’s work became noticed and he continued to grow in the esteem of his peers. Whilst in New York he gradually became an established illustrator for Harper’s and soon his work was in great demand. Realizing he had learned as much as he could he returned to Wilmington, Delaware.
 
By 1880 Pyle had became engaged to Anne Poole and in April of 1881 they were married. They later had seven children, Sellers (1882), Phoebe (1886), Theodore (1889), Howard (1891), Eleanor (1894), Godfrey (1895) and Wilfred (1897). His work remained in constant demand as an illustrator, both for books and articles by others and for his own illustrated articles.

 
When Pyle began writing his Robin Hood at the age of 30, he asked his mother to send him the original copies he had owned as a child. He began researching his novel whilst visiting a public library in New York and no doubt it was whilst there that he read of Washington Irving’s descriptions of his ‘ramblings’ through Sherwood Forest. But the Sherwood Forest in Pyle’s imagination, created for American boys, is a combination of the countryside he had played in around Delaware and the mythical land he had heard about in the stories of his childhood.
 
Using the techniques and styles he admired in early book production and medieval manuscripts, Pyle produced beautiful decorative head and tail pieces as well as full page illustrations that guided the reader and created the mood of the story. It would later be described and praised by critics as ‘total design.’ Dobson and Taylor, authors of the celebrated ‘Rymes of Robyn Hood’ (1997) stated that ‘Robin Hood’s conquest of late nineteenth-century America ‘reached its climax’ with Pyle’ superbly illustrated work.


His highly praised and distinctive pen and ink art work was also used on Pepper & Salt, The Wonder Clock, Otto of the Silver Hand (also written by Pyle), and The Garden behind the Moon. He cemented his reputation with the four volume Arthurian legends which included The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, The Story of the Champions of the Round Table, The Story of Lancelot and His Companions, and The Story of the Grail and the Passing of Arthur. His medieval story Men of Iron was made into a Hollywood movie in 1954 and re-named The Black Shield of Falworth. And it is from his fabulous illustrations for the Book of Pirates that our present-day concept of pirates has come.

At the time when it was customary and fashionable to study in Europe, Pyle had a strong conviction that students should seek their training and inspiration in America. In 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration called the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. He was always determined to teach beyond the formal institutional walls of a place like Drexel, so in the summer months between 1898 and 1903 he took his students to a mill nearby at Chadd’s Ford, Pennsylvania on the Brandywine River. These selected artists became known as the ‘Brandywine School.’

On Pyle’s fiftieth birthday one of his students (and later also a famous illustrator of Robin Hood) N. C Wyeth wrote to his mother of the celebrations in Pyle’s honor:

‘Our plan was … to represent, to the extent of our numbers, the characters originated and pictured by Mr. Pyle during his illustrious career, such as Robin Hood characters ….Little John etc. There were about seventeen of us costumed out absolutely correct in detail and color and it so happened that each statue was utilized in such a way as to fit their characters absolutely ….. A red and gold curtain rose, displaying a gorgeous gold frame containing a striking resemblance of Robin Hood. It completely fazed Mr. Pyle and amid enthusiastic applause from our small but mighty audience we were exhibited one by one, each taking some pose easily recognized by its ‘Maker’.’

As a teacher, Pyle attracted a large number of students, inspiring them as much by his idealism, as by the high standards he set for picture making. He incorporated the recording of emotions, the outdoor sketching, the lectures on historical backgrounds and costumes. His classes developed such later well known artists and illustrators as N.C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Olive Rush, Elenore Abbott, Jessie Willcox, Maxfield Parrish, Elizabeth Shippen Green, Gertrude A. Kay, Charlotte Harding (Brown) Harvey Dunn, Stanley Arthurs and Edward A. Wilson. Of his 110 students, significantly, 40 were women, in a time when few women were becoming professional artists.

He taught his students to look at new ways to tell a story. He wanted to move away from the ‘staginess’ of illustrations from previous generations and sought to dramatize and portray basic human emotions. His work made the reader an eye-witness to a vivid experience. No area of the picture was to be wasted and through the details, the viewer’s eye is purposefully led toward the focal center.
 

Pyle died from a kidney infection while he was studying mural painting in Florence, in Italy in November 1911. It was his second trip abroad. After his death, his students collected many of his original paintings as a nucleus for the present comprehensive collection of his work in the Deleware Art Museum. His legacy was to be the roster of brilliant talent that followed; the greatest testament to his teachings.
 
Elizabeth Nesbitt (Howard Pyle. London: The Bodley Head, 1966) described Pyle’s ‘Merry Adventures of Robin Hood’ as the ‘most beautiful example of his twin talents as author illustrator’. Its publication established him as one of America's foremost writers and illustrators for children.’

But for me, Howard Pyle brought the simplest and strongest of ‘Robins’ back into the publishing mainstream and created the iconic mould of the merry outlaw that would be used right up until the 21st century.

Norman Lindsay's Robin Hood

My interest in the legend of Robin Hood has led me down many paths over the years. I have a love of art and have a particular interest in illustrations of our outlaw hero. But I must confess I had never heard of the Australian artist Norman Lindsay, until I saw this beautiful etching called, ‘Robin Hood’ that he created in 1922 for a book of verse called Idyllia, by the poet Hugh McCrae. So I thought I would investigate the life of this multi-talented man.

Norman Lindsay (1879-1969), was a prolific artist, cartoonist, and writer. He came from a family that incredibly produced five artists of distinction.

Lindsay was born in Creswick, Victoria in Australia and was the son of Irish surgeon Robert Charles William Alexander Lindsay and Jane Elizabeth Lindsay. Fifth of ten children, six boys and four girls, he is now widely regarded as one of Australia’s best loved and greatest artists. Producing a vast body of incredible work in different media, including pen drawing, etching, watercolour, oil and sculptures in concrete and bronze.

As a child he suffered ill health (a blood disorder) which prevented him pursuing energetic hobbies, so he spent his time learning to draw and paint.

Lindsay left home when he was sixteen to live with his brother in Melbourne. In 1901 he moved north to make his permanent home in the Blue Mountains, to the west of Sydney, in a stone cottage in landscaped grounds. He began working for the Australian journal the Bulletin as an artist, reviewer and contributor of essays and fiction. His association with the Bulletin lasted for over fifty years, almost until his death in 1969. Working for journal as an editorial cartoonist he was able to express his and the magazines political view in his art. But his paintings and drawings were often condemned by the establishment as immoral, and aroused much controversy for their overt sexuality. They were also distinctly politically incorrect and often disrespectful, but the frankness and vitality of his work was an expression of his own personality. One of his pen drawings, the Crucified Venus caused such a stir that it was removed from an art show, only to be returned later under threat of removing all the art by the President of the Society of Artist if it was not returned.

He subsequently led a bohemian life in Melbourne where he established his reputation. This period is reflected in his first novel, A Curate in Bohemia (1913). Lindsay was the main driving force behind Vision, a magazine edited by his son Jack Lindsay and Kenneth Slessor. Creative Effort (1920) and Madam Life's Lovers (1929) express his aesthetic credo.

Lindsay’s energy and creativity became legendary; he usually worked on multiple projects, in different mediums, at the same time. He often rose before dawn, completed a watercolor before having breakfast, worked on some etchings during the day, moved out to the garden to work on a concrete sculpture in the afternoon and finished chapters of his current novel after dinner.

For recreation, he would work on model ships, and he was very precise in his measurements and detail. He also made lead figures for his ships, decorated and carved pieces of furniture, built chairs, planters and Roman columns and even did the building of several additions to his home. He was also known for his lavish house parties.

Norman Lindsay married Kate Parkinson in Melbourne in 1900; they had three sons but were divorced in 1918. One son, Jack, went on to become a noted publisher and writer in England. He married Rose Soady, one of his long-time models, in 1920, and they had two daughters. One daughter, Helen, known as Honey, later took over the printmaking studio in the grounds of Springwood; and built a house around it.

Lindsay also created propaganda and recruitment posters that were commissioned by the Australian government during World War I.

His well-known children’s book, ‘The Magic Pudding,’ was produced in 1918. This classic is still in print, having been translated into four languages and published in three countries; it remains a popular book for children. Other work of literature was not received well. Many aroused protest for his revolutionary ideas and their sexual explicitness. Redheap (1930; US title Every Mother's Son), was banned in Australia until 1958, as was the first part of his trilogy which also included Saturdee (1933) and Halfway to Anywhere (1947); these novels, with their sexually vigorous young protagonists, comically depict small town life. Novels in similar vein include The Cautious Amorist (1932), also banned, and The Age of Consent (1938). Other works include Norman Lindsay's Book, No. I (1912) and Norman Lindsay's Book, No. II (1915), sketches and stories; and My Mask (1970), an autobiography.

Survived by his wife Rose (d.1984) Norman Lindsay died on 25 December 1969 at Mornington and was cremated.

Robin Hood entertaining Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest

Daniel Maclise’s (1806-1870) large painting, titled Robin Hood entertaining Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest (1839) is probably the most well-known interpretation of the legend on canvas. Versions of this colourful work of art have appeared on countless book covers about the outlaw down the years.

As you can see Robin Hood, centre stage, is wearing a scarlet tunic. This is a direct reference to the ballad, Robin Hood and Queen Catherine. Maid Marian is seated in a bower, a reference to the May Games and her role as the Queen of the May. In the background you can just about make out the targets being moved closer; a reference to the Geste and how the targets were too far away for King Edward's men. Little John stands on the left of the picture holding one of the king's deer. Friar Tuck is seen slouching in front of an oak tree.

Maclise was born in Cork, in 1806 from a humble background which he later tried to conceal. He was the eldest of seven children and was educated at a local English School where he developed a talent for drawing and caricature. His creative ability attracted attention from several influential patrons and in 1822 he became one of the first students and the newly established ‘Society for Promoting the Fine Arts’. When Sir Walter Scott visited Cork in 1825, Maclise made a sketch of him that was lithographed, and that inaugurated his public career.

Once he left Cork in the late summer of 1827 Maclise spent nearly all the rest of his life in England where he felt completely at ease and eventually lived in a beautiful house in 4 Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, in London.

In 1828, Maclise was enrolled as a student of painting in the Royal Academy (RA) and a year later was awarded the Silver Medal for antique drawing and in 1831 the Gold Medal for History Painting. His fascination with history would become the foundation of his later career.

Maclise travelled to Ireland a year later and painted two famous works associated with his Irish material: All Hallows Eve (or Snap Apple Night) and The Installation of Captain Rock. From the 1830’s to 1840’s Maclise was prolific as an illustrator, which included fantastical work for Thomas Crofton Croker's Fairy Legends in 1826 , Thomas Moore's lavish Irish Melodies (1845), Lord Tennyson's Poems (1857). He also produced designs for Charles Dickens’s Christmas Books and during the early 1830s he executed a series of portraits of literary and other celebrities of the time, including his friend Dickens, as well as caricatures, which were afterwards published as the Maclise Portrait Gallery (1871).

In 1839 he completed his oil on canvas (72 in. x 144.1in.) Robin Hood Entertaining Richard the Lionheart in Sherwood Forest (re-touched in 1845).

In 1843 Queen Victoria purchased his Scene from Undine to present to Prince Albert on his birthday. The Prince in his turn commissioned Maclise to execute one of the frescoes in the Garden Pavilion at Buckingham Palace. . . This was followed by commissions for two frescoes in the New Palace of Westminster: The Spirit of Chivalry completed in 1848 and The Spirit of Justice completed in 1849.

In 1857 he agreed to paint two huge frescoes in the Royal Gallery in the new Parliament buildings, and in 1859 he began The Meeting of Wellington and Blucher on the walls of Westminster Palace. It was begun in fresco, a process which proved unmanageable, and he asked if he could resign from the task. But after being encouraged by Prince Albert, Maclise travelled across to Berlin to study ‘the new medium of water-glass painting.’

So he carried on with his project and its pendant, The Death of Nelson, but it was not completed until 1865 and the effort completely undermined his health. Maclise’s spirit seemed to have been broken and he turned his back on public life. He refused a knighthood and presidency of the Royal Academy and sadly passed away of acute pneumonia on the 25th April 1870.

Political Robin Hood

As Britain’s Election begins tomorrow (Thursday), I thought I would take a small look at how - 600 hundred years later - a medieval outlaw still has an influence in our modern world and its politics.

To see more interpretations of Robin Hood, please click on the Label ‘Images of a Legend.’

Robin Hood Conference

A four day conference on the outlaw hero of Sherwood Forest finished just over a week ago. The International Association for Robin Hood Studies Seventh Biennial Conference was held at the University of Rochester and drew an audience of 100 people.

"Every generation gets the Robin Hood they want and the Robin Hood they deserve," says Thomas Hahn, professor of English at the University of Rochester and the organizer of this year's theme: "Robin Hood: Media Creature." Various scholars examined the ways in which the outlaw hero has been reshaped over the past 700 years, and look at the evolution of Robin Hood through stage, song, literature, memorabilia, and more.

It was a series of workshops, lectures, films, and concerts which included an exhibit called The Americanization of Robin Hood, 1883-1923, An Impression of the Middle Ages, (an exhibit that draws from Eastman House negatives), an operetta, a concert of early lute music, and the East Coast premiere of the earliest-surviving film featuring Robin Hood .

Even today Hollywood can't leave the legend alone, as it prepares for the 2010 release of Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe, not to mention the start of the third and final season of Robin Hood on BBC America.

Jessie Marsh's Story of Robin Hood

The Story of Robin Hood was the first Walt Disney live-action movie to be adapted to a comic strip. This was yet another way in which Disney was able to advertise his new releases and keep the film fresh in the audiences mind. Above is the original Sunday Strip ink drawing, before colorization, by the comic book artist and animator Jesse Mace Marsh.

Jesse was born in Florence, Alabama on July 27th 1907 his father was a small business contractor. From a very young age, Jessie had an interest in art and studied artists he admired in the local library and the museums. He was a self-taught and aspired to be a fine arts painter.

When Jessie was twelve years old his father moved the family to California, where in 1939 his son’s talents were first noticed and used by the Walt Disney Studio. He was involved in creating the studio’s animated classics, such as Pinocchio and Fantasia, but by 1945 he had also joined some fellow Disney artists in freelancing at Western Publishing.

1n 1947 he began drawing his main claim to fame - the Tarzan Comic for Dell (later Gold Key Comics), from the comfort of his new studio at his home. Other strips were created there, including Gene Autry, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett and many more.

But he also remained intermittently working for Disney, which included drawing their Sunday newspaper strip that usually featured the current Disney movie as a tie-in. His first was The Story of Robin Hood which had been released in America a few weeks earlier. He began Robin Hood on July 13th 1952 through until December 28th 1952 and worked alongside the strip writer Frank Reilly.

Jessie remained as a staff artist for Western Publishing, often producing over a 100 pages a month, until 1965 when diabetes was seriously affecting his eye sight. Jessie sadly passed away on April 28, 1966.

I expect many of you will be keen to see more of this comic strip and Mace’s fine quality art work. So stay tuned!

Chuck Jones Artwork

I fancied some light relief after a fortnight of computer problems. So here's some classic artwork from the master of animation, Chuck Jones (1912-2002). Jones brought to life 300 cartoon films for Warner Brothers and during his career gained three Oscars and an Honoury Oscar for lifetime achievement.

Above are two of his wonderful Loony Tunes creations, Porky Pig as Friar Tuck and Daffy Duck as Robin Hood taken from Robin Hood Daffy, which was released on 3rd August 1958

My computer is now thankfully sorted out!

Miss Robin Hood

I couldn't resist sharing with you this poster from the 1940's. It is Miss 'Robin Hood' Hunter, apparently advertising an archery competition.