National Library of Australia
The Flower Hunter | Ellis Rowan

The Exhibition

Ellis Rowan sketching in the gardenThe Flower Hunter: Ellis Rowan is the first exhibition to show the art of Ellis Rowan in its depth and variety.

The National Library of Australia acquired the majority of Rowan's painted estate the year after her death in 1922, and the exhibition draws heavily on this pre-eminent collection. Guest curator Patricia Fullerton has selected over 160 works spanning the artist’s life and favoured mediums. Ninety-five exemplary watercolor and gouache paintings from the National Library’s collection include the extraordinary New Guinea paintings of stinkhorn fungus, birds of paradise and rampant plant life. Rowans prize-winning oil painting Chrysanthemums (1888) is publicly exhibited for the first time since it was awarded the First Order of Merit and Gold Medal at the 1888 Centennial International Exhibition held in the Melbourne Exhibition Building.

Delarbrea michieana  c.1911–1913 The complex compositions and extraordinarily confident paint application of these works is unrivalled in international natural history painting of the period.

The Flower Hunter: Ellis Rowan also includes the most comprehensive display of the rare ‘Ellis Rowan’ Royal Worcester painted ceramics ever exhibited. Over 45 examples are exhibited alongside designs from the Royal Worcester factory, painted silk placemats and striking gilded mocha cups and saucers painted with Australian finches.

Ellis Rowan painted more species of Australian and international flora than any other artist of her era and, at her best, produced some of the most powerfully arresting flower paintings recorded in Australian art.

Australian Tour

The tour of this exhibition is made possible by Visions of Australia

National Library of Australia, Canberra
24 October 2002 - 27 January 2003

Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery, VIC
2 September - 19 October 2003

Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, TAS
21 November 2003 - 10 February 2004

Castlemaine Art Gallery and Historical Museum, VIC
1 March - 20 April 2004

South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA
15 June - 31 July 2004

Western Australian Museum, Perth, WA
August - October 2004