Nora Heysen was born in Hahndorf in 1911, the fourth child of Hans and Sallie Heysen. The Cedars was her home from 1912 until 1934. Nora’s extraordinary artistic talents were evident from an early age and by 1933 her works had been acquired by the National Gallery of South Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery, the National Art Gallery of New South Wales, and the Howard Hinton Collection at Armidale. Her first solo exhibition in Adelaide in the same year at the Royal SA Society of Arts Gallery was a complete sell-out, and Nora won the Society’s Melrose Prize for Portraiture.

In 1938, with her portrait of Madame Elink Schuurman, Nora Heysen became the first woman to win the Archibald Prize and in 1943 she became the first woman appointed as an Australian war artist, Captain Nora Heysen, and completed over 160 works during the Second World War which are now in the Australian War Memorial collection in Canberra.

Nora Heysen's heritage-listed studio, nestled within the grounds of The Cedars, is a significant cultural site that offers a glimpse into the life and work of this pioneering female artist. Her studio, preserved much as she left it, is a space filled with light and creativity, where she produced a diverse body of work, including portraits, still lifes, and depictions of everyday scenes. The studio is a testament to Nora's dedication and talent, with original paintings, sketches, and personal items on display, offering visitors an intimate connection to her artistic journey. Surrounded by the natural beauty that inspired both her and her father, Nora Heysen's studio is not only a tribute to her legacy but also a symbol of her trailblazing role in Australian art history.