Lady of the Camellias

I have always enjoyed pictures of camellias and magnolias by artist Lila Moore Keen, and I was delighted to recently find out that she is a native Georgian. While preparing for the liquidation sale at the New Perry Hotel, we came across several pictures that had labels on the back that said they had been framed by Lila Moore Keen, so I decided to look this lady up online.

Lila was born in Cleveland, Ga., and was fascinated with a sister’s little box of paints, so she decided to borrow them and taught herself to paint at the age of 12. She was a natural born artist and was fascinated with native Georgia flowers. She later attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur.

Lila married the son of one of the founders of Farmers and Merchants bank, James Keen, and moved to Dublin. Lila became a well-known artist across the country painting landscapes and portraits, but people especially loved her paintings of camellias and she quickly became known as the “Lady of the Camellias.” Her camellia paintings were showcased in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and she was honored by the American Camellia Society as her artwork often graced the covers of their monthly magazine.

Lila Moore Keen original prints can bring around $1,000. There is currently an exhibit of many of her works that were donated by her family at the Dublin Carnegie in Dublin through July 1.

These beautiful vibrant paintings are well loved by not only Southerners but people around the world. Lila would often search the gardens of friends to find the perfect examples of camellias and magnolias. Later in life, she married Claude Bennet but still used her maiden name. She operated galleries in Charleston, S.C., and Highpoint, N.C. The latter is where the prints we found in the hotel came from.

Lila worked in oil and watercolor paints and appeared at galleries all over the country and often painted portraits of her children’s friends who complained that she included their freckles in the paintings!

Lila passed away in 1963, but her paintings live on in homes and art galleries everywhere. I hope you will take a look at some of these Southern treasures on your favorite search engine.

Happy Collecting!

Jillinda Falen has been buying and selling antiques for over 30 years and is a licensed REALTOR and estate liquidation specialist. You can contact her through the Houston Home Journal or via email at jcfalen@gmail.com.

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