Guide to the Papers of Hans Heysen, c.1880s-1973 (bulk 1899-1968)

Summary

Collection number:

MS 5073

Creator:

Heysen, Hans, Sir, 1877-1968

Extent:

8.95 metres and (55 boxes)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Hans Heysen, National Library of Australia, MS 5073, [series and file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The papers relate to the life and work of South Australian artist Hans Heysen. They include personal and family correspondence, financial papers, personal documents, photographs, minutes and agenda, newscuttings, printed material and ephemera. The personal and family correspondence forms the bulk of the collection.

Biographical Note:

Wilhelm Ernst Hans Franz Heysen was born on 8 October 1877 in Hamburg, Germany, the sixth child of Louis and Maria Heysen. His father migrated to South Australia in 1883 and Hans, his mother, brothers and sisters arrived in the following year.

Heysen attended a number of schools in Adelaide as his father tried his hand at a various unsuccessful business enterprises, finally establishing himself as a produce merchant. He left school in 1892, working first in a hardware store and then on one of his father's produce carts. His growing interest in art and drawing resulted in his part-time enrolment at James Ashton's Art School in Norwood. While convalescing at home, after a work accident, Heysen produced his first work of note, a watercolour titled 'The wet road'. This work was purchased by his art teacher, James Ashton.

In 1894, while Ashton returned to England for a visit, Heysen briefly attended the School of Design under the direction of Harry P. Gill. On Ashton's return he moved back to his newly established Academy of Art. In 1898, under the patronage of Robert Barr-Smith, Heysen returned to the School of Design to study for 12 months. During this period Heysen's work was exhibited regularly in Adelaide with the Easel Club and the Society of Arts.

In 1899 a number of Heysen's works were submitted to the Royal Drawing Society of Great Britain and Ireland. He was awarded the first prize and a gold medal for the outstanding work of the year. In the same year Heysen's talent was acknowledged by four prominent Adelaide businessmen. They agreed to finance his studies in Europe in return for the paintings that he produced during this period. He studied first in Paris at the Academie Julian, at Colarossi's Academy and then at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Summer painting excursions were made to Holland, Scotland and Germany and his last year was spent in Italy.

On his return to Adelaide in 1903 Heysen opened a studio and art school. The following year he won the Wynne prize for his work 'Mystic Morn' and in December married one of his art pupils, Selma (Sallie) Bartels. He continued to earn his living by painting and teaching, selling his pictures to private buyers and various galleries.

In 1908 Heysen held a one-man exhibition in Melbourne which was opened by the Prime Minister, Alfred Deakin. The exhibition was a great success and allowed the Heysen family to move to Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills. It also generated commissions from prominent patrons such as (Dame) Nellie Melba and the Victorian governor. Following further successful exhibitions he was able to purchase 'The Cedars', a property on the outskirts of Hahndorf, in 1912, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Hesyen's work gained steadily in popularity in the 1920s. He became the subject of two dedicated issues of Art in Australia in 1920 and 1928 and was featured in other issues. Over his long career Heysen generated good sales from his exhibitions and private commissions which allowed him to support his family.

Heysen is best known for his landscapes of the Australian bush dominated by gum trees. His favourite locations were the Flinders Ranges (which he first visited in 1926), the Mount Lofty Ranges and the scenery around his home in rural Hahndorf. As well, he painted a range of other subjects including pastoral scenes, seascapes, still life studies and portraits. He was a fine water-colorist, etcher and painter in oils, and also sketched in charcoal and crayon.

Heysen won the Wynne prize nine times between 1904 and 1932, the Crouch prize in 1931 and the Maude Vizard Wholohan prize in 1957. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1945 and knighted in 1959.

He was a member of the Board of the Art Gallery of South Australia from its inception in 1940 until his death. During his life-time Heysen was a generous donor to the Gallery and he also left it a number of artworks in his will. A substantial body of his work is held by the Gallery.

Heysen died in July 1968, aged 90.

Bibliographic Reference(s)

• Hans Heysen, Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A090289b.htm.
• Nancy Robinson Flannery, 'Heysen inspired by nature', NLA News, Vol XV, No 2, November 2004.
• Hylton, Jane and Neylon, John, Hans Heysen: into the light, Kent Town, SA : Wakefield Press, 2004.
• North, et al., comps, Hans Heysen centenary retrospective, 1877-1977, Adelaide : Art Gallery Board of South Australia, 1977.

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

The papers were presented to the Library in 1975 By David Heysen, the eldest son of Hans and Sallie Heysen. A small number of letters were added to the collection in 1976 and 1986. Another small addition (Series 10) was received from the Curator at 'The Cedars', Hahndorf, in 2003.

Arrangement:

The Library has arranged the Heysen Papers into ten series, each of which has been described in this finding aid. In addition, all the correspondence has been indexed and item-numbered, with the exception of family correspondence in Series 2.

Container List:

Series	Files	Items	Box
1	1-8	1-682	1
1	9-16	683-1407	2
1	17-24	1408-1980	3
1	25-32	1981-2252	4
1	33-41	2253-4259	5
1	42-50	4260-4861	6
1	51-58	4862-5585	7
1	59-67	5586-6097	8
1	68-76	6098-6725	9
1	77-85	6726-7408	10
1	86-93	7409-8182	11
1	94-102	8183-8927	12
1	103-111	8928-9607	13
2	112-118	1-596	14
2	119-122a		15
2	123-130		16
2	131-139		17
2	140-147		18
2	148-156		19
2	157-164		20
2	165-172		21
2	173-179		22
2	180-187		23
2	188-194		24
2	195-202		25
2	203-210		26
2	211-220		27
2	221-230		28
2	231-238		29
2	239-247		30
2	248-254c		31
2	255-262		32
3		1-400	33
3		401-750	34
3		751-1013	35
4	263-268a		36
5	269-277		37
5	278-286		38
5	287-295		39
5	296-302		40
6	303-311		41
6	312-319		42
6	320-327		43
6	328-335		44
6	336-344		45
6	345-353		46
6	354-362		47
6	363-371		48
6	372-381		49
6	382-389		50
7	389a-390		51
7	391-398		52
8	399-406		53
8	407-415		54
8	416-421a		55
9	422		55
10	423		55

Related

Related Documentation:

1. Supplementary finding aid (Type: pdf, Size: 558.1 KB)

   Appendix I – Correspondence Index

Separated Material:

Three folders of letters written by Hans Heysen to his daughter, Nora Heysen, were originally transferred to the Library with Han Heysen's papers in 1975. In 1987 the Library acceded to Nora Heysen's request that the Library return the originals of her father's letters to her. They are now housed in the Nora Heysen Papers (MS 10041) in Series 1.3, Folders 143, 144 and 145.

Existence and Location of Copies:

Selected items from the Heysen Papers have been digitised and are available online through this finding aid.

A number of paintings and drawings by Hans Heysen in the Library's Pictures Collection have also been digitised and are available online through the Library's catalogue (http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/).

Indexed terms

Names:

Heysen, Hans, Sir, 1877-1968

Conditions Governing Access:

Access conditions may apply to this collection, please refer to the collection's catalogue record for further information (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2615641).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Papers of Hans Heysen, National Library of Australia, MS 5073, [series and file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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