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Nora Heysen with her dog standing outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney

2000
Sage

gelatin silver photograph, sepia toned on paper (sheet: 40.5 cm x 30.5 cm, image: 25.6 cm x 20.1 cm)

Nora Heysen AM (1911–2003) was one of Australia's most accomplished portrait artists. Her self-portrait of 1934 was an early acquisition of the National Portrait Gallery. The portrait photographer Sage made these images of Heysen at the home in which she lived for most of her life. Sage was born in Wales, and his first photographs were of Welsh miners and their families during the UK miners' strike of the late 1980s. He studied documentary photography with the Magnum photographer David Hurn, and has worked as a photojournalist for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the artist 2001
© Sage

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Nora Heysen

'This peaceful spot'

Portrait story: 2 minutes

Australian artist, Nora Heysen, discusses her childhood and the development of her career.

Listen: Nora Heysen

In their own words

Recorded 1965

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Nora Heysen with her dog standing outside her home, Hunters Hill, Sydney