Lot 161

Deutscher-Menzies, 8 September 2004, lot 194 (label verso)

"Hans Heysen Retrospective Exhibition 1901-1965", The Adelaide Festival of Arts, 1966, catalogue no. 110 (label verso)

David Driden, The Art of Hans Heysen, 1966, plate 72

One of Australia's most celebrated artists, Sir Hans Heysen is best known for his depictions of towering gum trees and grandly romanticised portrayals of the Australian landscape. His works resonate so deeply with the Australian public that they won him the Wynne Prize for landscape painting a record nine times and have made him a household name nationwide.

The present work is a fine example of Heysen's masterful draughtsmanship and his sensitivity to nature's sublime form. Without the use of the full colour palette, Heysen is ever more sensitive to the subtle gradations of light and shadow at the moment a storm looms on the horizon of a sweeping mountain range. The deftness of his hand is apparent, as if he were attempting to capture as much likeness of the landscape as possible before retreating from the impending downpour.

From 1926 to 1933 Heysen's typical serene and majestic gumtree scenes with the odd drover and cow transitioned into depictions of the rugged landscape of the Flinders Ranges. The series of artworks that he produced during his 11 trips there from his colonial home, The Cedars, just outside Hahndorf SA, comprise a distinct group within his entire body of work. The present lot demonstrates his preoccupation with this newfound landscape.

© Hans Heysen/Copyright Agency, 2021