The Adelaide Hills: Historic South Australian Paintings 1880-1960 (Hahndorf Academy, 2009)
The spectacular Adelaide Hills’ landscapes provided a continuous font for South Australia’s most celebrated painter, Sir Hans Heysen OBE (1877-1968), who lived from 1912 at The Cedars just outside of Hahndorf. They were also a significant catalyst in the creative life of his daughter Nora Heysen (1911-2003). Nonetheless, South Australia’s artistic heritage is much richer than the contribution of one family, with many artists since colonisation responding to the Hills as a source of inspiration for their art.[i]
Initially the artists’ inspiration lay almost exclusively in the beauty of the scenery, and the resulting art was concerned with their individual conceptions of beauty. Beauty is the key in our understanding and appreciation of their art. Seldom are these landscapes transformed by extravagant style and fantasy. There is no evidence of surrealism or the angst induced by the Depression and…
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