Madeline Lewellin facts for kids

Madeline Mary Ravenna Lewellin (1854 – 24 November 1944) was an Australian artist. She was also a botanical collector, meaning she gathered plants for scientific study.

About Madeline Lewellin

Madeline Lewellin was born in 1854 in Victoria, Australia. Her father, Dr. John Henry Hill Lewellin, was a doctor. Her mother was Grace Elizabeth Danneby. Madeline had five sisters, and her family lived in Prahran. Her brother, Herbert Gordon Hill Lewellin, was a captain in the P. and O. shipping company.

Her Art Education

In 1879, Madeline studied painting at the National Gallery School. She learned from a famous artist named Eugene von Guerard.

A Love for Nature

Madeline was well-known for collecting and painting plants and fungi. She became a member of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria in 1885. In 1884, she won a silver medal for her detailed paintings of fungi.

She also collected plants for a famous Australian botanist named Ferdinand von Mueller. A type of plant called Dicrastylis lewellinii (Purple sand-sage) was named after her. This shows how important her work was!

Her Painting Style

Madeline was very good at capturing feelings in her art. For example, when she recreated a painting called Cattle in Storm, people said she showed "almost the same expression of wildness, terror and amazement in the faces and eyes of the beasts as appear on the original."

Selected Artworks

Here are some of Madeline Lewellin's beautiful watercolour paintings.