Tag: Ellis Rowan

Wattle: From the illustrations of May Gibbs to Ellis Rowan’s watercolours

Posted by Elliott Murray   ●   31 Aug 2021

National Wattle Day was first celebrated in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia on 1 September 1910, then in Western Australia and Queensland in 1912. Wattle had become a symbol of Australian national identity from Federation — becoming one nation — the Commonwealth of Australia, on 1 January 1901. Branches of wattle then featured…

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Margaret Olley: The subject is wildflowers

Posted by Glenn R Cooke   ●   16 Sep 2019

Painting flowers had long been considered a feminine subject. With the examples of Marian Ellis Rowan (1848–1922) and Margaret Preston (1875 1963) behind her, Margaret Olley (1923–2011) can be seen as part of the continuing tradition. But she was more than that. Still life and interior painting were significant genres during the 1930s for both…

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