Meredith, Louisa Ann (nee Twamley) (1812 - 1895)

In Louisa Ann Meredith's flower paintings there is an easy blend of science and imagination. She was influential in England in popularising a sentimental interest in the language of flowers.

Born in England, Louisa Ann Twamley, she kept a diary from an early age, and she used this as source material for her books. They included Poems (1835), Romance of nature, or the Flower Seasons Illustrated (1836), Flora's Gems (1839), and Our Wildflowers (1839).

In 1839 she married Charles Meredith who ran sheep in the Murrumbidgee area of New South Wales. The two sailed for Tasmania to join Charles' father at Oyster Bay, where the newly-weds bought a property. Within four years of her arrival she had written Notes and Sketcbes of New South Wales (1844) and My Home in Tasmania (1850). Her descriptions of colonial life were frank. She also wrote fiction and poetry.

Meantime, her husband had lost the money he had invested in New South Wales. He later became a member of the House of Assembly, and held office until 1879 when he resigned because of ill health.

Extracted from: Jennifer Phipps (1986) Artists' Gardens - Flowers and Gardens in Australian Art 1780s-1980s, Bay Books, Sydney. [consult for source references]
Photo: Google Images, dates and names checked.