Ethel Anna King (1879 – 1 January 1939) was an Australian scientific illustrator of snakes, fish and botany.
Ethel A. King | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ethel Anna King 1879 Lismore, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 1 January 1939 (aged 59–60) Darlinghurst, New South Wales, Australia |
| Known for | Scientific illustration |
| Notable work | 137 drawings for Snakes of Australia |
Biography
editBorn in Lismore in 1879, King moved to Sydney to study painting and drawing with Julian Ashton and Dattilo Rubbo.[1][2] In 1922 she was appointed assistant to Margaret Flockton, artist working for Joseph Maiden, director of the Botanical Gardens in Sydney to illustrate his work.[3][4]
Many examples of her work are held in the Australian Museum, where she worked on commission in the 1920s and 30s.[5]
In 1925 she was commissioned to prepare fish exhibits for display at the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, including a 250 lb (113.4 kg) Giant groper (Epinephelus lanceolatus).[6]
She contributed illustrations to the first edition of the Australian Encyclopedia[4] and made 137 colour illustrations for J. R. Kinghorn's Snakes of Australia, which were described by David G. Stead, President of the Naturalists' Society of New South Wales as "render[ing] the work quite unique and absolutely invaluable to naturalist and bushman alike, as with their aid it is easily possible to identify every species".[7]
A colour plate she created for Charles Barrett's Australian Animals (1932) was described as "one of the finest illustrations of its kind yet published in this country" by The Melbourne Herald.[8]
Shortly before her death she was appointed to serve as anatomical artist at the Institute of Anatomy in Canberra.[1]
Works
editReference books
edit- Froggatt, Walter W. (1927). Forest Insects and Timber Borers. Illustrated by E. A. King. Sydney, New South Wales: A. J. Kent, Government Printer.
- Kinghorn, J. R. (1929). Snakes of Australia. Illustrated by E. A. King. Sydney, Australia: Angus & Robertson.
Children's books
edit- Honey, W. H. (1934). Bush Creatures. Illustrated by E. A. King. Sydney, New South Wales: W. H. Honey Publishing Co.
- Higgins, Kathleen (1937). Betty in Bushland. Illustrated by Pixie O'Harris and E. A. King. Sydney, New South Wales: Angus & Robertson.
Death
editKing died on 1 January 1939 at a private hospital in Darlinghurst, New South Wales[9] and was cremated.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "Obituary". The Northern Star. New South Wales, Australia. 11 January 1939. p. 9. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "A Lismore Artist". The Northern Star. Vol. 51. New South Wales, Australia. 4 December 1926. p. 16. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Art and Botany". The Sun. No. 979. New South Wales, Australia. 1 January 1922. p. 18. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ a b "Miss E A King". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 528. New South Wales, Australia. 18 January 1939. p. 10. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Leeson, Alison (23 October 2013). "Ethel King – Painter of all things natural". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ Egan, Patricia (9 January 2014). "A Fishy Tale from 1926". The Australian Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ Stead, David G. (25 December 1929). "A Study of Australian Snakes". The Sydney Mail. Vol. XXXVI, no. 926. New South Wales, Australia. p. 16. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Our Animals". The Herald. No. 17, 263. Victoria, Australia. 12 September 1932. p. 4. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 514. New South Wales, Australia. 2 January 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 515. New South Wales, Australia. 3 January 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 31 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
edit- Photograph of Ethel A. King preparing a Queensland groper for exhibition
- Illustrations of snakes by Ethel A. King