__NOTOC__ Edgar Dell (28 November 1901 – 18 April 2008) was a

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

n painter best known for his watercolour paintings of that state's wildflowers. Born in London, England in 1901, where his father Edwin Dell was a Nurseryman and Garden Contractor. His maternal grandfather, Carl Rossner was a talented artist who was known for painting frescoes. At one point he painted the ballroom ceiling at Buckingham Palace. As a child, Edgar was allowed to play with leftover tubes of paint. As a young man he worked in an office in Chancery Lane before studying art at the Regent Street Polytechnic. He spent a year in Canada, working and saving money to return to art school. He attend the Hampstead Garden Suburb Art School. Again running short of money to pay for his studies, Edgar emigrated to Western Australia in 1925. He always intended to return to London and complete his studies, however times were tough when he arrived and he found regular work difficult to secure. Edgar spent time working on an orchard in the Bickley valley of the Darling Ranges East of Perth. The area was surrounded by bushland and he worked the orchard by day and painted wildflowers from the bush by oil lamp at night. He liked to show every stage of a plant's lifecycle, with his works showing buds, open flowers and seeds. He was careful to add in minute details such as the hairs on a stem. These paintings were sold to

West Australian Newspapers ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times (Western Australia), The Sunday Times'' ...

Ltd., which published one painting a week in a

colour supplement A colour supplement or colour magazine is a magazine with full-colour printing, typically printed on glossy paper, that is packaged with a newspaper. Some colour supplements are Sunday magazines, but may also be included with a daily newspaper. ...

to '' The Western Mail,'' a weekend newspaper.(1936) ''Flowers of Western Australia.'' Perth .A.(The plates were issued as weekly supplements of the Western Mail during the period 1933–1935) and are from original watercolours by Edgar Dell). These were accompanied by a botanical description by Charles Gardner, then Government Botanist, and were so popular that they were compiled into book form and published under the title ''Western Australian Wildflowers'' in 1935. A revised and enlarged edition was published in 1958, and again in the 1970s under the title ''Wildflowers of Western Australia''. This ran to numerous editions, albeit with ever-diminishing numbers of Dell's plates as photographs of wildflowers became more readily available. On occasion, he was provided with plant specimens from the north of the state by CA Gardner and painted these at the Herbarium in Perth. Edgar sold the rights to all the original paintings of which there were over 100 and did not receive any further payment for their use. In the early 1930s Edgar bought land in Paulls Valley in the Shire of Kalamunda, that had been the site of the Port and Honey timber mill. He intended to clear the land and establish an

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

there. The block came to be known as The Dell; this name has subsequently also been extended to a nearby recreation site. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

he made a living cutting timber in the bush, and was away from the property for periods of time. He married Elneth O'Neil in 1935 and they raised 7 children in Paulls Valley. Their children include John Dell (https://eoas.info/biogs/P001959b.htm), Anne Dell and

Bernard Dell Bernard Dell (born 1949) is an Australian botanist. He is a Professor Emeritus at Murdoch University, a Professor Emeritus in the Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences and is a Visiting Professor in the Chinese Academy of Forestry. Before retiring ...

. Edgar lived alone on a section of the property from the early 1970s, growing flowers which he sold to florist shops in Perth. He continued this until well into his 80s and 90s. The remainder of his original property was maintained as orchard and market garden by several of his sons. He died 18 April 2008, at the age of 106.

Notes

References

* *Mansfield, Carol (1997). "Edgar Dell, A Singular Talent". Australian Garden History Vol 9 No 6 May/June 1998

Publications

* Dell, Edgar (1936). ''Flowers of Western Australia''. Perth, W.A. West Australian Newspapers. 129 leaves of plates. note – cover title: ''Wild flowers of Western Australia''. * Dell, Edgar (1937). ''Poison plants of south-western Australia: from water colour drawings'' description by C.A. Gardner; colour plates by West Australian Newspapers. Perth, W.A.: West Australian Newspapers.

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Publications

Further reading