Nora Heysen was an early talent. But she was always having her artistic ambition undercut by the stinging criticisms of men.
Some were her teachers, others were friends of her famous father, landscape painter, Hans Heysen.
Over dinner at her studio, the Royal Academician, James Bateman, told Nora her work was mechanical and lacked tone, and that she painted "the wrong way".
"We nearly came to blows discussing women artists and their merits," Nora relayed to her parents.
Just three years later, Nora would become the first woman to win the Archibald Prize. Five years after that, she'd become
Australia's first female war artist.
We're
revisiting her story to launch the latest series of
Fierce Girls — our podcast about extraordinary women and girls, designed to inspire you and your kids.
All five episodes spotlight inspiring female artists, in conjunction with the National Gallery of Australia's Know My Name initiative. (How many female artists can you name? If it's not many, then
here's your chance to correct that.)
Then, catch up on the early episodes of our special series on
The Bookshelf, Five Star Reviewers. It's the Bookshelf you know and love, but with a twist — special guests will be reading outstanding books.
This week, Pip Williams – author of the best-selling Australian novel of 2021, The Dictionary of Lost Words – reads Elizabeth Strout's Oh William, and musician Tim Rogers reads from Karl Ove Knausgaard's The Morning Star.
Enjoy your weekend,
Annika Blau, RN digital editor
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