Publications in the Exhibition
(chronological order)
By the age of 50, Ellis Rowan had achieved such recognition in Australia
and the international art world that she was already an Australian household
name. She was mid-career and chose that time to publish her autobiography
A Flower-Hunter in Queensland and New Zealand (Sydney: Angus and
Robertson, 1898) based on entertaining, but factually inaccurate letters
to her family. As yet, she had not had a solo exhibition in Europe, nor
explored the Americas or the remote parts of New Guinea. Few letters and
no diaries remain from her life prior to, or after, the events described
in this book: her press cuttings are undated and give little reference
to their source. Despite several biographies written since then, and some
well-researched catalogues, many aspects of her extraordinary life and
personal details remain a mystery.
The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia, vol. 13
Sydney: The Picturesque Atlas Publishing Co., 18861888
The
Picturesque Atlas of Australasia was published in three volumes.
Many of its approximately 700 wood-engraved illustrations were specially
commissioned works by leading Australian and American artists. The work
covers Australian history from the days of the earliest Portuguese, Spanish,
Dutch, English and French navigators to the 1880s. Included is the landing
of Captain Cook in 1770 and information about explorers and pioneer missionaries,
the formation of the different colonies and the establishment of representative
government.
Ellis
Rowan
A Flower-Hunter in Queensland and New Zealand
Sydney: Angus and Robertson, 1898
This book is based on a series of colourful letters Ellis wrote to her
husband during on her travels. In describing her adventures, she tells
of hair-raising encounters with snakes and crocodiles, bolting horses
and the perils of turbulent sea voyages.
Alice Lounsberry (illus. by Ellis Rowan)
A Guide to the Wild Flowers
New York: Frederick A. Stokes and Co., 1899
and
Alice
Lounsberry (illus. by Ellis Rowan)
Southern Wild Flowers and Trees
New York: Frederick A. Stokes and Co., 1901
Towards the end of the 1890s Ellis Rowan spent six years travelling around
the United States and the West Indies with the American botanist, Alice
Lounsberry. Their collaboration resulted in these two books, and anotherA
Guide to the Trees (1900)which are still being used as standard
reference tools.
Ellis Rowan
Bill
Baillie: His Life and Adventures
Melbourne: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1908
In 1906 Ellis Rowan was in the Western Australian goldmining area around
Kalgoorlie, Laverton and Goongarrie. She was regarded with respect by
the people who lived there and on one occasion she was given a bandicoot
rabbit. She named him Bill Baillie and he became her travelling companion
for several years. She wrote of their times together in this book which
was reprinted in 1948 in modified form as a story reader suitable
for children aged 1012 years.
F. Manson Bailey
A
Comprehensive Catalogue of Queensland Plants
Brisbane: A.J. Cumming Government Printer, 1913
The Queensland State Government Botanist, Manson Bailey, chose 16 of
Ellis Rowan's paintings as colour plates for this book. He also named
a large spotted orchid in her honour.
Henry A. Tardent
Mrs Ellis Rowan and Her Contributions to Australian Art and Science
Brisbane: Watson, Ferguson and Co., 1927
Helen Jo Samuel
Wild Flower Hunter: The Story of Ellis Rowan
London: Constable and Company Ltd., 1961
Margaret Hazzard and Helen Hewson
Flower Paintings of Ellis Rowan from the Collection of the National
Library of Australia
Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1982
The highlight of the National Library's publishing program in 1982 was
this volume featuring 20 reproductions chosen from the 947 works acquired
by the Commonwealth Government in 1923, the year after the artist's death.
Not only was it the most ambitious of the Library's publications to date,
it was also the most sumptuous.
Marianne
North
A Vision of Eden: The Life and Work of
Marianne North
London: HMSO in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, 1996
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