Her Life:
On 2 January 1907 The Cape Argus Weekly Edition published a photograph of Ethel Edwards in its supplement on "Famous South African Artists". In it she stands posed at her easel determinedly painting en plein air. The caption states that she is "a lady who has recently studied under Frank Brangwyn, and an Art Mistress". We know that she taught drawing in Cape Town from about 1897. The link with Brangwyn was clearly meant to impress, as he was perhaps the most famous British artist of the day. Nothing about her association with him has come to light. In 1901 Edwards was a member of SADC and later joined SASA, showing on many exhibitions up to 1924. She painted landscapes and portraits, the titles of the former suggesting that she frequently travelled. On the SASA 1906 exhibition, she entered several scenes painted in Belgium. She is hardly mentioned in reviews, apart from one that notes "the works of Miss Ethel Edwards show careful study, and her painting of a church interior has a

solemn tone about it, while her picture of a Malay boy is also an excellent piece of work" (The Cape Times, 30.7.1898). Edwards was a keen member as her name is often listed in reports on SASA gatherings as among those present. In 1902 she lived at 133 Longmarket Street.