Madeline Mary Ravenna Lewellin (1854 – 24 November 1944) was an Australian artist and botanical collector.[1]

Madeline Lewellin
Born
Madeline Mary Ravenna Lewellin

1854
Died24 November 1944(1944-11-24) (aged 89–90)
Hampton, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Other namesM. M. R. Lewellin
EducationNational Gallery School
Known forPainting
AwardsSilver Medal, Victorian Intercolonial Exhibition of Wine Grain Fruit etc

Biography

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Lewellin was born in 1854 in Victoria to Dr John Henry Hill Lewellin, a physician, and Grace Elizabeth (née Danneby).[1] She was one of five daughters, and the family lived in Prahran.[1] Lewellin's brother, Captain Herbert Gordon Hill Lewellin, was a commander in the P. and O. fleet.[2]

She studied painting at the National Gallery School in 1879 under Eugene von Guerard.[3]

Lewellin was known for collecting and painting specimens, and became a member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria in 1885.[1] In 1884 she won a silver medal for her studies of fungi.[3] She collected plants for Australian botanist Ferdinand von Mueller, and the variety of Dicrastylis lewellinii (Purple sand-sage) is named after her.[4]

Her recreation of a known painting Cattle in Storm was said to "place upon her canvas almost the same expression of wildness, terror and amazement in the faces and eyes of the beasts as appear on the original."[5]

Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Lewellin, Madeline Mary Ravenna - biography". www.anbg.gov.au. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Miss Beth Mackey". Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957). 30 March 1935. p. 22. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Painting - Start Point Light, Devonshire. - Victorian Collections". 136.154.202.135. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Seeds of South Australia - Species Information". spapps.environment.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  5. ^ "THE EXHIBITS". Leader (Melbourne, Vic. : 1862 - 1918, 1935). 27 December 1879. p. 24. Retrieved 17 October 2020.