Pink and white peonies in a bowl

Helen Cordelia Coleman painted exclusively still-lifes of flowers, birds and fruit. She came from an artistic family and in association with her brother she worked as a decorative painter for the famous English ceramics firm of Minton, where her still-lifes were painted on many pieces. Unlike many in her field her works reveals more than a talent for imitation and William Henry Hunt (1790-1864) regarded her as his successor. She exhibited at the Old Water-Colour Society, the New Water-Colour and at the Royal Academy from 1876-1878.