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Auction archive: Lot number 6

♡ NORA HEYSEN (1911-2003) Tomatoes 1951

Women Artists
21 Oct 2020
Estimate
A$17,000 - A$22,000
ca. US$12,027 - US$15,565
Price realised:
A$17,000
ca. US$12,027
Auction archive: Lot number 6

♡ NORA HEYSEN (1911-2003) Tomatoes 1951

Women Artists
21 Oct 2020
Estimate
A$17,000 - A$22,000
ca. US$12,027 - US$15,565
Price realised:
A$17,000
ca. US$12,027
Beschreibung:

♡ NORA HEYSEN (1911-2003) Tomatoes 1951 oil on canvas on board signed and dated lower right: Nora Heysen 1951 35 x 43cm PROVENANCE: Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle (label verso) Dr J. P. Rasmussen OAM Thence by descent Private collection, New South Wales OTHER NOTES: Related Work: "Tomatoes" 1939, oil on board, 44.2 x 55.6cm, Art Gallery of South Australia Nora Heysen achieved many firsts in her career. She was the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald prize for portraiture, and the first female Australian official war artist. As a young girl, Nora was strongly encouraged by those around her to pursue her artistic talents. Sydney Ure Smith, Lional Lindsay, and Will Ashton (friends of her father Hans Heysen nominated her the winner of a prize amongst her siblings for the best artwork, and she later received an artist's palette from family friend Dame Nellie Melba in 1927 which remained with her for decades to come. With support behind her, Nora experienced early success being awarded the best still life at the South Australian Society of Arts when she was just 19. Nora Heysen's body of work displays her inherent preference for still life. Upon her return from London in 1938, it is believed that Hans agreed with her that she would focus on still lifes and him landscapes to avoid the comparisons between their work and allow each to maintain their own success. Although still life was a subject matter already deemed appropriate and acceptable for women painters, Nora chose it as she genuinely preferred it to painting en plein air. Still life enabled her to focus on form, shadowing, and diverse colouring. It should be noted that Nora was a very strong-willed woman, and so she would not have shyed away from painting the more "masculine" subject matter, such as landscapes, if she wished. Nora explored the various facets of still life painting, from florals to vegetables to objects. It was in compositions of fruits and vegetables, however, that we notice the inherent agrarianism. In "Tomatoes" 1951 the eggplant is bulbous, firm, and perfectly shaped. The tomatoes are rich, plump, and ripe for the eating. These still lifes are not just a study of objects, but a celebration of seasonal produce and the abundance of the land. Although Nora adopted a more elevated viewpoint, she was inspired by Henri Fantin-Latour especially his "Plate of Apples" 1861. In the book accompanying the wonderful exhibition "Hans and Nora Heysen", curator Tracey Lock fittingly identifies, "under the repeated sharp observation of everyday fruits and vegetables and cut flowers, the Heysens' empirical art came to denote a human interface with nature, where the journey was within. Resonating with a defining healing spirit, their quiet home-based paintings are as potent as any of the assertively modern or nationally self-conscious artistic expressions of their period. The still lifes remind us that as a space to contemplate in peaceful silence the simple beauty of natural forms and objects, there is indeed 'no place like home." (Hesson, A., Lock., T., Hans and Nora Heysen: Two Generations of Australian Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2019, p.106) Olivia Fuller Head of Art Estimate $17,000-22,000 Condition: The work is in overall very good condition. Upon close inspection, there is minor loss of pigment just beneath the green tomato, in the bowl (pin-sized). There are also two further pin-sized losses in the tablecloth far left. The paint surface displays light surface dirt and fly spots as expected for the work's age. The work is in its original frame, overall size measuring 56 x 63.5cm. (LEONARD JOEL CONTACTLESS DELIVERY $88 within 20km of Melbourne premises) The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to inspect articles for sale at our pre-sale viewing where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice. Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of

Auction archive: Lot number 6
Auction:
Datum:
21 Oct 2020
Auction house:
Leonard Joel
333 Malvern Road
South Yarra, 3141 Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
info@leonardjoel.com.au
+61 (0)3 9826 4333
+61 (0)3 9826 4544
Beschreibung:

♡ NORA HEYSEN (1911-2003) Tomatoes 1951 oil on canvas on board signed and dated lower right: Nora Heysen 1951 35 x 43cm PROVENANCE: Von Bertouch Galleries, Newcastle (label verso) Dr J. P. Rasmussen OAM Thence by descent Private collection, New South Wales OTHER NOTES: Related Work: "Tomatoes" 1939, oil on board, 44.2 x 55.6cm, Art Gallery of South Australia Nora Heysen achieved many firsts in her career. She was the first woman to win the prestigious Archibald prize for portraiture, and the first female Australian official war artist. As a young girl, Nora was strongly encouraged by those around her to pursue her artistic talents. Sydney Ure Smith, Lional Lindsay, and Will Ashton (friends of her father Hans Heysen nominated her the winner of a prize amongst her siblings for the best artwork, and she later received an artist's palette from family friend Dame Nellie Melba in 1927 which remained with her for decades to come. With support behind her, Nora experienced early success being awarded the best still life at the South Australian Society of Arts when she was just 19. Nora Heysen's body of work displays her inherent preference for still life. Upon her return from London in 1938, it is believed that Hans agreed with her that she would focus on still lifes and him landscapes to avoid the comparisons between their work and allow each to maintain their own success. Although still life was a subject matter already deemed appropriate and acceptable for women painters, Nora chose it as she genuinely preferred it to painting en plein air. Still life enabled her to focus on form, shadowing, and diverse colouring. It should be noted that Nora was a very strong-willed woman, and so she would not have shyed away from painting the more "masculine" subject matter, such as landscapes, if she wished. Nora explored the various facets of still life painting, from florals to vegetables to objects. It was in compositions of fruits and vegetables, however, that we notice the inherent agrarianism. In "Tomatoes" 1951 the eggplant is bulbous, firm, and perfectly shaped. The tomatoes are rich, plump, and ripe for the eating. These still lifes are not just a study of objects, but a celebration of seasonal produce and the abundance of the land. Although Nora adopted a more elevated viewpoint, she was inspired by Henri Fantin-Latour especially his "Plate of Apples" 1861. In the book accompanying the wonderful exhibition "Hans and Nora Heysen", curator Tracey Lock fittingly identifies, "under the repeated sharp observation of everyday fruits and vegetables and cut flowers, the Heysens' empirical art came to denote a human interface with nature, where the journey was within. Resonating with a defining healing spirit, their quiet home-based paintings are as potent as any of the assertively modern or nationally self-conscious artistic expressions of their period. The still lifes remind us that as a space to contemplate in peaceful silence the simple beauty of natural forms and objects, there is indeed 'no place like home." (Hesson, A., Lock., T., Hans and Nora Heysen: Two Generations of Australian Art, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, 2019, p.106) Olivia Fuller Head of Art Estimate $17,000-22,000 Condition: The work is in overall very good condition. Upon close inspection, there is minor loss of pigment just beneath the green tomato, in the bowl (pin-sized). There are also two further pin-sized losses in the tablecloth far left. The paint surface displays light surface dirt and fly spots as expected for the work's age. The work is in its original frame, overall size measuring 56 x 63.5cm. (LEONARD JOEL CONTACTLESS DELIVERY $88 within 20km of Melbourne premises) The opinions expressed in the condition reports are a guide only and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Prospective buyers are encouraged to inspect articles for sale at our pre-sale viewing where Leonard Joel staff are available for advice. Leonard Joel makes no guarantee of

Auction archive: Lot number 6
Auction:
Datum:
21 Oct 2020
Auction house:
Leonard Joel
333 Malvern Road
South Yarra, 3141 Melbourne, Victoria
Australia
info@leonardjoel.com.au
+61 (0)3 9826 4333
+61 (0)3 9826 4544
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