Mystery remains over 1930s Norman Lindsay art print

When it came to researching his family history, Neville Grant looked to the internet. He did not expect that he would end up delving into the world of printing.

An internet search took Grant to the Print21 article, ‘Family printers discover Norman Lindsay art print’, published late last year. Grant is the grandson of William Hackett, who patented a reproduction process known as the “Hackett Colour Process for Printing and Reproducing Fine Arts” used to produce a limited-edition Norman Lindsay print, ‘Doreen’ from 1932.

Grant is in possession of his own copy of ‘Doreen’, though he doubts that it is the original, and is unaware of its whereabouts. “My mum gave it to me years ago. She had a few other copies of the ‘Doreen’ which my brother has in his possession and will be dispersed through our children,” he said.

Though he is related to the revered Hackett, Grant, a carpenter by trade, admitted that his involvement with printing “begins and ends with handwriting” and was unable to shed any light on the location of the original ‘Doreen’ or the evolved lithographic process used to create it.

“The process was spoken about with revered hush-hushness – voice levels would drop a few octaves,” Grant recalled.

Like the disappearance of Harold Holt, it looks like Doreen’s whereabouts will forever stay a mystery.