Lot 47

K. B. Leaver, Chaplain, Flinders Medical Centre, Victoria (label verso) 1977
Private collection, Adelaide
Elder Fine Art, Adelaide, 28 May 2017, lot 25 (as "Still Life – Pink, White and Red Camellias in Rustic Kettle (Flowers from the Artist's Garden)")
Private collection, Adelaide

Time spent in the garden and a love of flowers shaped Nora Heysen's earliest memories of her childhood in Hahndorf. She began painting from a young age, often working en plein air, and still life soon became an enduring subject that she would return to throughout her career.

Painted in 1963, '(Still Life – Camellias)' captures the quiet beauty of one of Heysen's most familiar subjects. A simple metal bucket overflows with freshly cut camellias, painted with confident, expressive brushstrokes. Their warm reds, pinks and whites emerge against the cool blue-grey background, while the simplicity of the bucket provides a contrast to the abundance of flowers above.

Still life remained central to Heysen's practice, from carefully arranged floral compositions to more spontaneous studies of fruit and everyday objects. By the 1960s, she was increasingly drawn to still life and interior scenes, finding continued inspiration in the familiar objects and flowers that surrounded her.