French artist Lucien Henry came to Sydney in 1879, at a time when the colony was developing pride in its identity. He pioneered the use of Australian flora and fauna in decorative art and was particularly enraptured with the waratah, which he championed in many of his designs. In his book, The Australian Flora in Applied Art: Part I the Waratah, Richard T Baker praised Henry, writing ‘Australia certainly had an artist possessing real genius’. On his return to France in 1891 Lucien Henry wrote and illustrated The War-Atah: Australian Legend.