Ellis Rowan

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Ellis described the fungi:

Growing,
they look like dolls dressed up in fluted lace petticoats ... Some are apple
green, others mauve; one is black, and another has a scarlet cap. They stand
high on long white stems, and the fungus closely resembles exquisite lace.

In her 70s, artist and naturalist Ellis Rowan spent day after day
painting birds, plants and flowers in the tropics of Papua New Guinea. After a
young local boy brought her a beautiful toadstool one day-then another, and
another-she painted no less than 72 images of various species of fungi, many of
which were unknown to Australian botanists at the time.

Scattered throughout Christine Morton-Evans' new illustrated biography
of the artist, Ellis Rowan's own words offer an expressive and often amusing
insight into the way Rowan saw the world. Portraying herself as an 'intrepid
lady explorer', she not only adventured into wild and inaccessible places in
search of new wildflowers and wildlife, she also wrote of these expeditions in vivid
accounts for her family, and later for print in newspapers.

A first-generation
Australian, driven by the pioneering spirit of her parents, Rowan decided early
that she would search out, collect and paint an entire collection of wild
Australian flora. From the late 1870s, she exhibited works at international
exhibitions, winning dozens of medals and receiving the highest honours at the
1888 Centennial International Exhibition in Melbourne. In 1895, Rowan met Queen
Victoria, who purchased three of Rowan's paintings, which she intended to have
made into a fire-screen. It was but a small part of her success. Her life's work
made an important contribution to knowledge of our country's flora and fauna.

From her early life in
Melbourne, through schooldays, marriage and children, to the tropical north of
Australia, England and Papua New Guinea, Rowan was known for her independent,
strong character. She enjoyed her own company, content to flout the conventions
of the period in pursuit of activities that would satisfy her endless curiosity
about people, places and nature.

This is her story, told
through the wonderful paintings that form part of her collection of 970 works
held by the National Library of Australia.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Paperback / softback
ISBN13: 9780642279576
Published: April 2020

Number of pages: 192
Width: 190 mm
Height: 230 mm
Depth: not specified

Publisher: National Library of Australia