Australian Women Artists

The Podcast

Episode 7

Dr Anne-Louise Willoughby on Nora Heysen

Nora Heysen was a precocious talent who sold her first work at 16 to Dame Nellie Melba. Encouraged by her father, artist Sir Hans Heysen, Nora had enormous early success.

By the time she was 20 her paintings had been purchased by the state galleries of NSW, SA & Qld and held her first solo exhibition at the Royal Sth Aus Society of Arts in 1933. She was 22.

She was the 1st woman to win the Archibald and was our 1st woman war artist.

But then...inexplicably, she fell from public view.

In the late 1980s she was ‘rediscovered’ and a retrospective of her work put her, once more, in the spotlight. She lived to witness this and enjoy the accolades she deserved and the reputation that allowed her to move from her father’s enormous shadow.

It was a great conversation with Dr Anne-Louise Willoughby and her book is a revelation.

Nora Heysen: A Portrait (freemantlepress.com.au)

Head to the link in my bio to hear our conversation.

1. Self portrait, 1932 oil on canvas 76.2x61.2 AGNSW
2. Self portrait, 1934 oil on canvas 43.1x36.3 Nat. Portrait Gallery
3. Archibald Prize Winner, Madame Elink Schuurman, 1938, oil on canvas 87x68
4. Nora Heysen with her Archibald winning portrait, Photo:Tim Clayton/Fairfax media
5. Portrait of Nora Heysen at work, 1939 gelatine silver photograph 18.5x14.2 Harold Cazneaux
6. Matron Annie Sage, 1944, oil on canvas 76.6x56.4 Aust War Memorial
7. Intentionally hung together by Art Gallery SA (image: RG). One is by one of Australia’s greatest artists. The other is by…well, I’m going to say another of Australia’s greatest artists. Intentionally hung by AGSA next to each other. Would you know which was Hans and which was Nora? Answer below
8. Interior The Cedars (image: RG) which hosted Nellie Melba, Laurence Olivier, Edmund Hillary, Anna Pavlov, Marcel Marceau. If the walls could talk!
9. Nora Heysen at 92 in front of Hans Heysen’s Red Gold. Brenton Edwards

Top Hans Heysen Poppies 1907 oil on canvas. Bottom Nora Heysen, Scabious, 1930 oil on canvas