Actresses & Artists

Nora Heysen

Born on January 11, 1911, in Hahndorf, South Australia, Australia. She was the fourth daughter of famed landscape painter, Hans Heysen & his wife, Selma. Nora recieved her first introduction into the art world from her father. At age 15, she was enrolled at the School of Fine Arts, in Adelaide. She studied under the tutelage of F. Milward Grey, where she recieved a traditional artistic education, learning to draw from plaster casts & live models. While she was in school, Nora continued making art at her family home home, The Cedars. She created a series of self-portraits in her father's studio including, Self-portrait (1926) & Self-portrait with a smock (1928), which displayed a sense of self-reflection & subtlety, yet they also indicated an inherent sense of self-confidence in herself. Nora also produced a number of pieces inspired by the local landscape including, Old Gum Tree, The Cedars, Hahndorf (1928), which later became memorialized in her father's work.

By the age of 20, Nora's work had been purchased by state galleries in New South Wales, South Australia & Queensland. In 1930, she exhibited her work with the Society of Artists, in Sydney. In 1933, she had her first solo exhibition at the Royal South Australian Society of Arts. Another of her most iconic pieces is, Petunias (1930), which was a prime example of Nora's particular interest in still-lifes & demonstrates her distinction of form & colour & showcases her ability to capture the unique qualities of her subjects. Her father is known to have criticized her style for her treatment of "each flower being seen somewhat separately", which makes the piece more modernist & distinguishes her work from her father's.

A classic example of her work in the 1930's, her Self Portrait (1932), was also painted in her father's studio & expressed her ambition as a young artist, through a piercing stare. Her technique also evokes old European masters of the early Renaissance, Nora is said to have referenced several Vermeer prints, which hung on the walls of her father's studio. In 1934, Nora travelled to Europe with her family, she lived in London for the next four years. Nora attended the Central School of Art from 1934-36, while living in Europe, she also travelled to France & Italy. In 1936, Nora collaborated with Australian sculptor, Everton Stokes, who lived in rural Dorset. The same year, she enrolled at the Byam Shaw School, where she studied under Ernest Jackson.

Nora returned to Australia in 1937, revisiting her father's studio in Hahndorf, where she created more striking works including, Corn cobs (1938), this piece showed her resourcefulness in finding subjects in her immediate vicinity. Her short brushstrokes also embody Nora's impressionistic style. Nora settled in Sydney & became a member of the Society of Artists. In 1938, she became the first woman to be awarded the Archibald Prize for her portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman, the wife of the Dutch consul-general to Australia. Nora was also the first woman to appointed an official war artist during WW2, she was stationed at Port Finschhafen, in Papua New Guinea. Her work was featured at the gallery there from 1943-46, where she met Robert Black, a doctor who specialized in tropical medicine. Nora & Robert married in 1953; the couple continued making regular trips to Papua New Guinea & the Solomon Islands, where Nora made several more paintings & sketches of the local people & landscape including, King Mitakaka, New Guinea (1953).

Nora continued exhibiting her work in South Australia & New South Wales throughout her career. Her first retrospective exhibition was in 1984, at the Clarendon Gallery, South Australia. More recently her work featured in the travelling exhibition, Nora Heysen: Light & Life, in 2009. Nora Heysen died on December 30, 2003, in Sydney, New South Wales.

https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/heysen-nora/