Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Australia's first official female war artist

Daughter of the famous Hans Heysen and a talented artist in her own right, Nora Heysen enlisted on 12 October 1943. Commissioned to depict the effort of women in war, Heysen was "lent around to all the Services; the air force, the navy and the army, to depict the women working at everything they did”.¹

In April 1944 she went to New Guinea, where she spent seven months depicting service in the tropics. She later covered army medical units at Sydney Hospital. In total, Heysen completed over 160 works of art as official war artist. 

1. Australian War Memorial, "Nora Heysen AM (1911-2003)," Fifty Australians, 10/10/2016, https://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/fiftyaustralians/23.asp (www.awm.gov.au)

Nora studied in London and Paris intent on developing her own style. A painter in her own right, Nora won the Archibald Prize in 1938 for her portrait on canvas. She was appointed official War Artist in 1943 and painted significant works depicting women in war and in New Guinea.
Nora married pathologist Dr Robert Hughes Black in 1953, and they lived in Hunters Hill, NSW where she continued to paint.
In 1998 Nora was awarded an Order of Australia for her contribution to the arts.