Nora Heysen’s self-portraits are striking images of independence and determination. Painted in 1938, the year that she became the first woman to win the coveted Archibald Prize, this self-portrait became a direct way for Heysen to affirm her identity as an artist: ‘I painted myself because I knew her . . . [Painting self-portraits] is the one time when you can be with yourself absolutely and just paint’. The pronounced brushstrokes and heightened colour tones reflect the optimism that fuelled Heysen at this point of her career. Gone are the early influences of Italian Renaissance art and classicism. Here she looks forward as a modern woman, committed to her art and painting in a modern idiom. Soon after making this portrait, Heysen moved from Adelaide — and the shadow of her famous father, Hans Heysen — to Sydney, where she quickly established herself as a distinguished portrait painter in her own right.