Nora Heysen Australia, 1911-2003
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About Nora Heysen
Born in 1911, Heysen was the fourth daughter of Sir Hans Heysen, and as well as receiving training from her father, studied at the School of Fine Arts in Adelaide, and in London at the Central School of Art. On her return from Sydney in 1937 she settled in Sydney and in 1938 was awarded the Archibald Prize for her portrait of Elink Schurman. As an official war artist during World War II, she worked in New Guinea for over two years. She had her first retrospective exhibition in 1984 in Adelaide, and another in 1989 in Sydney.
Nora Heysen is one of the most prolific of the artists listed in our database, with the number of works offered for sale by auction since 1970 of 449, of which 342 (76%) were sold. The highest price recorded for the artist is $270,600 for Self Portrait sold by Bonhams in April 2023. This year 3 works have been offered for sale. Works by Nora Heysen are held by the Australian War Memorial, Art Gallery of NSW and a further six major public national galleries (see list below).
Nora Heysen is listed in the following standard biographical references:
- McCulloch, Alan McCulloch, Susan McCulloch, Emily McCulloch-Childs. The New McCulloch's Encyclopedia of Australian Art. 4th Edition, Aus Art Melbourne & The Miegunyah Press, 2006. Page 516
- Germaine, Max. Artists and Galleries of Australia, Volumes 1 & 2, Third Edition. Craftsman Press, Sydney, 1990. Page 308
- Germaine, Max. A Dictionary of Women Artists of Australia. Craftsman House, Sydney, 1991. Page 205
- Dictionary of Australian Artists Online, an online resource for biographical data about Australian artists, designers, craftspeople and curators.
- Australian Prints + Printmaking, a database listing printmaking artists from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region based on the print collection of the National Gallery of Australia.
Artists' Resale Royalty
Could the second and subsequent works by this artist sold after June 9, 2010 for over $1,000 be liable for the Artists' Resale Royalty? More info…
Yes, eligible, subject to the artist satisfying the residency test. The artist is alive or has been deceased for less than 70 years. Contact the Copyright Agency for information on the residency test.
The Australian Art Sales Digest is a database of over 610,000 works by more than 12,000 artists who are listed as having either lived or worked in Australia or New Zealand, and an additional 36,000 foreign and other artists, offered for sale by auction in Australia and New Zealand from the early 1970s to the present day.
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