Heysen, Nora - Woman - The Australian Women's Register

Heysen, Nora (1911 - 2003)

Born

11 January 1911
Hahndorf, South Australia, Australia

Died

30 December 2003
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Occupation

Artist

Alternative Names

Black, Nora (married name, - 1972)

Website

http://www.awm.gov.au/aboutus/artist_profiles/heysen.htm

Summary

The daughter of South Australian landscape painter Sir Hans Heysen, Nora Heysen was the first woman to win the Archibald portrait prize (1938) and the first women to be appointed as an Australian war artist on 12 October 1943. During her service Heysen completed over 170 works of art. Following the war she travelled to England and in January 1953 married Dr Robert Black, who was to become the Head of Tropical Medicine at the University of Sydney. On 26 January 1998 Nora Heysen was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to art as a painter of portraits and still life subjects.

Published resources

Books

Klepac, Lou, 1936-, Nora Heysen, Beagle Press, Sydney, 1989, 80 pp. Details
Klepac, Lou, 1936-, Nora Heysen, National Library of Australia, Canberra, 2000, 53 pp. Details

Journal Articles

Groom, Linda, 'Nora Heysen 1911-2003', NATIONAL Library of Australia News, April, 2004, p. 22. Details

Newspaper Articles

'Her voyage was lit by a father's fire', Sydney Morning Herald, 6 January, 2004, p. 13. Details
Barron, Sonia, 'A remarkable artist', Canberra Times, 13 November 2000, p. 12. Details
Klepac, Lou, 'Painter made her own mark', Australian, 1 January, 2004, p. 14. Details
Lancashire, Rebecca, 'Painting of the week no. 10: Portrait Study (1933), Nora Heysen (born 1911)', Age, The Culture, 4 June, 2002, p. 3. Details
McDonald, Partick, 'Nora Heysen's back to paint memory lane', Advertiser, 25 May, 2003, p. 25. Details
Meagher, David, 'A cautious gaze', Australian Financial Review, Review magazine, 10 November 2000, pp. 12-18. Details
O'Brien, Philip, 'Visions of life in belated focus', Canberra Times, 21 October 2000, p. 10. Details
Pearce, Barry, 'In 1938, the first woman to win the Archibald Prize', The Age, Obituaries, 14 January 2004, p. 12. Details
Safe, Georgina, 'Noted artist Nora Heysen dies at 92', Australian, 31 December, 2003, p. 5. Details
Williams, Nadine, 'Trailblazer', (Weekend supplement), 10 January, 2004, pp. 6-7. Details

Sound recordings

Heysen, Nora, 1911-2003., Interview with Nora Heysen, painter, Dr. Denise Hickey oral history project Interview recorded at Centre for Advancement of Teaching, Macquarie University., Hickey, Denise., [1971?]. Details
Heysen, Nora, 1911-2003., [Conversation with Nora Heysen], Heysen speaks about her training ; studying in London ; her interest in painting flowers ; portraiture, De Berg, Hazel, 1913-1984., 8 November. Details
Heysen, Nora, 1911-2003., Interview with Nora Heysen, painter, Nora Heysen, daughter of famed Australian landscape artist, Hans Heysen, the only one of his eight children to become an artist, she spent her childhood near Adelaide painting and drawing often in the company of her father. In 1931 at age 20 she began exhibiting her works in three State galleries and then undertook further training in London for the next four years. In 1939 having moved back to Australia and living in Sydney, she became the first woman artist to win the Archibald Prize. After marrying she was appointed as a war artist in New Guinea during World War II., Rusden, Heather, 1948-, 25 August. Details

Theses

Nockels, Kate., 'Hidden from view [manuscript] : Nora Heysen twentieth century Australian artist', MA thesis, Australian National University, 1997, 78 pp. Details