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Sir Hans HEYSEN (b.1877; d.1968)

Sir Hans Heysen is best known for landscapes of majestic outback gums bathed in the morning light. But, in fact, he was one of Australia’s most versatile artists, his subjects including still life, portraiture and seascapes in more than a dozen mediums.

Wilhelm Ernst Hans Franz Heysen was born on October 8th, 1877, in Hamburg, Germany, migrating with his family to the German settlement of Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills when he was seven. An early interest in painting led him to attending art school part time at 16, and his talent attracted the interest of Adelaide businessmen who sponsored a study tour in Europe in return for everything he produced while away.

On his return, the combination of European experience and Australian locations met with such success that, in 1912 he was able to buy a home/studio, The Cedars, near Hahndorf, where he produced most of his famous work. Heysen and his wife raised eight children, while he pursued his passion for painting the rugged bush with a brilliant eye for the bright light, dryness and heat.

On his first visit to the Flinders Ranges in 1926, he was so overwhelmed by its beauty he could not paint on the trip!

But he returned every year, painting on location and also taking sketches back to the studio. Out of these tours came a remarkable, well-recognised legacy - brilliant paintings of gumtrees set against the bright sky, his depiction greatly influencing other artists. He once said that when the early-morning frost began to thaw, “everything becomes bathed in the most mysterious and fascinating atmosphere.”

“It all hums in light,” he said.

Heysen was knighted for his contribution to art and died aged 90 in 1968.

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Sir Hans HEYSEN (b.1877; d.1968)