Ellis Rowan
Petite, plucky and always immaculately dressed in the constraint of Victorian finery ... throughout her life she was acclaimed internationally, winning 29 medals, and accolades from leading art critics. Her work was also collected by royalty, including Queen Victoria - Patricia Fullerton, 2002
Ellis Rowan (1848–1922) was a painter, naturalist, writer and explorer. For almost 50 years, she travelled to remote parts of Australia, India, Europe, America and New Guinea in pursuit of exotic flowers and wildlife to paint. One of Australia’s most-loved botanical artists, she was a woman who made her mark at a time when scientific illustration was a male domain.
The Ellis Rowan collection at the National Library of Australia comprises 919 watercolours and gouaches painted between about 1870 and 1920. This represents less than one third of Rowan’s total output.
This title showcases 80 of Ellis Rowan's beautiful watercolour and gouache works and is accompanied by an essay written by Patricia Fullerton, art consultant and foremost expert on Rowan's artwork and life
The Artists of the National Library of Australia book series showcases the Library’s extensive pictures collection.
More to explore
William T. Cooper, Corymbia confertiflora (Kippist) K.D.Hill & L.A.S.Johnson, family Myrtaceae, Chillagoe, Queensland, February 2003, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1728333879
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Ellis Rowan, [Lorikeets (Geoffroyus heteroclitus)], 1917, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138740512
Ellis Rowan, Chrysanthemums, ca. 1890, nla.gov.au/nla.obj-138089294
Australian artist Ellis Rowan primarily worked in watercolour and gouache, and is best known for painting Australian native flowers. She caused a stir at the 1888–89 Centennial International Exhibition in Melbourne when her painting Chrysanthemums won First Order of Merit and Gold Medal. This similar painting, depicting the same type of flower, is a more recent addition to the Library's vast Rowan Collection, the bulk of which was acquired for the nation for £5,000 in 1923.
