Celia Elizabeth Rosser (born 1930) is an Australian

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

, best known for having published ''

The Banksias ''The Banksias'', by Celia Rosser, is a three-volume series of monographs containing paintings of every ''Banksia'' species. Its publication represented the first time such a large genus had been entirely painted by a single botanical artist. It ...

'', a three-volume series of monographs containing

watercolour painting Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to ...

s of every ''

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

'' species. Born Celia Elizabeth Prince, she began painting Australian wildflowers early in her artistic career. She first began painting ''Banksia''s after seeing a ''

Banksia serrata ''Banksia serrata'', commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus ''Banksia'', in the family Prote ...

'' near her home in

Orbost, Victoria Orbost is a historic early settlers town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the c ...

. Her first exhibition was at Leveson Gallery in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1965, and included three watercolours of ''Banksia'' species. Two years later she published ''Wildflowers of Victoria''. In 1970, Rosser was appointed Science Faculty Artist at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

. She illustrated Peter Bridgewater's ''The Saltmarsh Plants of Southern Australia'' and ''The Mosses of Southern Australia'' by George Scott and Ilma Grace Stone. In 1974 she was appointed University Botanical Artist, and began the project of painting every ''Banksia'' species. The project took over 25 years to complete, and resulted in the publication of a three volume monograph entitled ''The Banksias'', with accompanying text by Alex George. Publication of the final volume in 2000 represented the first time that such a large genus has been entirely painted. In 1997 she was awarded the

Linnaean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

Jill Smythies Award The Jill Smythies Award of the Linnean Society of London was established in 1986 and is awarded annually to a botanical artist. The award was established by Bertram Smythies, in honour of his wife, Florence Mary Smythies ("Jill"), whose career a ...

for botanical illustration, and in 1995 was awarded a Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

. Monash University awarded her an honorary Master of Science degree in 1981, and an honorary PhD in 1999.

Legacy

In March 1978 a chance seeding of '' Banksia canei'' with deeply lobed leaves and a prostrate habit was registered as a

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

by Alf Salkin under the names ''Banksia'' 'Celia Rosser' and ''Banksia canei'' 'Celia Rosser'. In 2001, Peter Olde and Neil Marriott published a description of a new ''Banksia'' species from the arid shrubland of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, naming it ''

Banksia rosserae ''Banksia rosserae'' is a recently described species of ''Banksia''. Endemic to inland Western Australia, it is the only ''Banksia'' species to occur solely within the arid zone. Description ''B. rosserae'' grows as a multi-stemmed shrub ...

'' in Rosser's honour. Since 2002, the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne have awarded the "Celia Rosser Medal for Botanical Art" to outstanding exhibitors at their "The Art of Botanical Illustration" exhibition.

References

5. "Banksia Lady Celia Rosser, Botanical Artist" by Carolyn Landon, Monash University Press 2015, DEWEY NUMBER 759.994 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosser, Celia Elizabeth 1930 births Australian illustrators Living people Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Botanical illustrators Australian women illustrators

Legacy

See also

References