The joint art exhibition of Sir Hans Heysen and his daughter Nora in Melbourne was the subject of an ABC Radio National discussion which caused a search in Little Darwin . Years ago, this blog ran a post about the late Hans Heysen in which it quoted cutting comments by art critic Robert Hughes about Hans and other artists who imitated his distinctive Australian landscape painting style , calling them "Heysenettes" . Into the wash , Hughes poked fun at the group , saying they used Reckitt's Blue .
There was a time , said Hughes , when most companies could not regard themselves as Australian unless they had a Hans Heysen landscape painting in the boardroom.
Hans Heysen and Hahndorf, in the Adelaide hills , where he lived , came up during a discussion with a South Australian some years ago . The man firmly told this blogger Hans had once painted a scene showing chooks standing in water . Chooks, it was pointed out to the artist , did not like standing in water , so Hans had changed them into ducks . This novel yarn was stored away and has only been revived after listening to the ABC report on the Heysen exhibition.
The informative Radio National program pointed out Nora Heysen had been the first woman war artist in the Second World, spending time in New Guinea capturing women's war involvement , and the first woman to win an Archibald Art Prize with a portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman. Nora Heysen ? This blogger seemed to think he had a Nora Heysen framed painting , print of course . But where ? Not found in a quick search of the cluttered Little Darwin den .
My wife complicated the search by saying she had once had a Nora Heysen floral painting in Adelaide . Still convinced he had Nora Heysen stowed away somewhere, this muttering blogger resumed the search . Sure enough , up on the dusty top of a bookcase in the bedroom in a clutter of objects which included an early Sydney Harbour Bridge souvenir school pencil case, a soda siphon , a stuffed crocodile , a Downer & Co., Adelaide and Port , codd design softdrink bottle , a toy racing car and some Aboriginal artefacts , there was Nora Heysen , requiring feather duster treatment. Except , it wasn't Nora ... it was Hans , 1924 , An Image of Delphiniums and Lillies .
