Ellis Rowan by Kate Collins
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
Ellis Rowan, 1848-1922 by Kate Collins
This book, published in 1989, is part of the Australian book series that featured the country's most outstanding artists.
My copy arrived last week. It features incredible full-page color plates of Australian native flowers, birds, and insects.
Born in Melbourne, Ellis married Frederic Rowan in 1873. Ellis discovered painting after her botanist husband, Frederick, encouraged her to develop talent, a passion she pursued until her death.
Ellis’s life was full of adventure. She traveled and painted abroad, and three of her paintings were presented to Queen Victoria. My favorite stories about Ellis concern her wonderful friendship with the botanist and writer Alice Lounsberry. Together, they created three beautiful books about the flowers of North America.
Ellis lived in New Guinea during the First World War. At one point, she painted 45 of the 62 known species of birds of paradise.
As a woman living during the mid-1800s, Ellis followed the dress code of her era. Ellis was always impeccably dressed wherever she went, whether on an expedition or at home. Ellis’s daily attire included heavy ankle-length dresses, high collars with full sleeves, crinolines, corsets, whalebone stays, and a hat.
Just before Ellis died, the federal parliament in Australia debated whether to buy 1,000 of Ellis' paintings. The Australian artist and novelist Norman Lindsay called Ellis' work vulgar - believing wildflowers were unworthy subjects for art.
Ultimately, Ellis' paintings were purchased for $5,000 and are now a treasured part of Australia's National Library.
This book is 52 pages of the beautiful work of Ellis Rowan.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.
