ELLA MARY DU CANE (BRITISH, 1874-1943)

ELLA MARY DU CANE (BRITISH, 1874-1943)
Azelea Kyoto
signed 'Ella Du Cane' (lower right)
watercolour
29 x 21.5 cm. (11 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.)

Provenance
With The Fine Art Society, 148 New Bond Street, Mayfair, London, No. 27

Ella Du Cane came into artistic prominence in 1893 when she exhibited at an exhibition of the prestigious New Society of Painters in Water Colours. Queen Victoria took a personal interest in her work, acquiring 26 of Du Cane's works between December 1895 and August 1898. With success came opportunities for travel. A 1902 exhibition of watercolour drawings of the West Indies was followed in 1904 by a show of pictures of Japan. In 1905 Du Cane was hired by A & C Black to provide illustrations for The Italian Lakes (1905), with descriptions by Richard Bagot. The company also used several of her Japan pictures in a book by John Finnemore. Building on her success, Du Cane arranged with Black to do a book on Japanese gardens with text written by her sister, Florence, a book released in 1908 as The Flowers and Gardens of Japan. The following year, the sisters' second book, The Flowers and Gardens of Madeira appeared.