Wickes, Ethel May, 1872-1940

Ethel May Wickes (1872-1940) was an artist known for her watercolor paintings of California wildflowers. She began to paint at the age of seventeen, studying in Paris under several prominent artists, and had her first exhibition the next year at the William Morris Gallery in New York. Her early popularity was won with "Goose Shepherd", a work that began her lifelong habit of painting and drawing geese. In 1914 she began painting California wildflowers, subject matter that she tried to render both aesthetically pleasing as well as botanically accurate. She was the president of the California Spring Blossom and Wild Flower Association and her workwas displayed in several prominent galleries and universities across the country.