A little girl carrying a basket of flowers before an azalea bush

Although Carloline Paterson never achieved as much recognition as her older sister Helen Allingham (1848-1926) she did, nevertheless, gain considerable recognition in her own right during her short career. During the late 1870s she contributed numerous illustrations for children's magazines such as Aunt Judy and supplemented her income by giving private art lessons near her Hampstead home. Her most productive period began in 1880 when her reputation as a children's book illustrator began to spread. She also provided designs for greetings cards for publishers such as Marcus Ward and Raphael Tuck. In 1881 she won the second prize of £100 offered by Hildersheimer for a Christmas card design. Caroline Paterson's watercolours generally consisted of genre scenes, portraits and landscapes. She exhibited at the Dudley Gallery, Manchester Art Gallery and the Society of Lady Artists from 1880 until 1896. She married late in life and for a few years she exhibited under the name Caroline Sharpe. The present watercolour is a particularly fine example of her work.