"Rogue" Giclée canvas print: 16"x20", edition size 100 s/n $775 unframed

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The title of this painting comes not from the elephant, but the man seated with the lady and the intriguing story that involves the two of them.

The year is 1908 the man is John Henry Patterson, who became famous through his own story of bravery: “The Man-Eaters of Tsavo”. The woman is Ethel Jane Brunner Blyth, recent widow of James Audley Blyth, the son of Lord Blyth and one of the heirs to the Gilbey Liquor fortune. In fact she is a very recent widow, under suspicious circumstances, as the story will reveal.

Patterson had invited his two English friends, the Blyths to go on a big safari to the little known Northern Frontier of British East Africa.

It seems there was constant tension between the two men particularly after an incident involving a trophy elephant, which Blyth was unable to shoot out of fear, and Patterson eventually had to take care of. Later Blyth took sick from an injury, which had gone septic. For much of the journey Blyth was carried on a litter. Some days he felt better ; on others he was worse. But all the time seething with jealousy over the gallant and dashing Patterson who was paying more and more attention to Ethel his wife. The safari had now reached Laisanis, and Blyth attempting to show his prowess went out hunting but collapsed with fever and became delirious unable to stand. He was brought back by porters and put on the cot in his tent. Apparently that night Effie stayed in Patterson’s tent. The next morning a gun-shot and a scream from Effie was heard. Which came first no one can remember. The end result is that Blyth was found dead in his tent with a gunshot to the head – an apparent suicide. But was it? What we do know is that Blyth was buried in a shallow grave in the bush, and all his papers and clothes were burnt at Patterson’s direction, and he and Effie went on with the Safari.

In my painting the two illicit companions are being visited by a bull elephant, which I thought would be fitting as the controversy started after they had shot such an elephant.