Sewing, which depicts the artist’s wife, Sallie, at her sewing machine, is an unusually domestic picture in Hans Heysen’s body of work. In keeping with its intimate subject-matter, the painting was not sold, but remained in the family home at Hahndorf in the Adelaide Hills.
Heysen developed his imagery of massive gum trees and rural quietude in the early years of the century. By 1912 he was one of Australia’s most successful artists. His masterpiece, Red Gold, entered the collection of the Art Gallery of South Australia in the year it was painted. Red Gold is also on show in Glorious Days.
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