Unusually for an artist, Ada Whitingnee Cherry (1859 –1953) was a celebrated success in her lifetime.1In 1900, the first time she submitted a portrait miniature to the Royal Academy in London, it was hung ‘onthe line’ – a small work needs to be exhibited at eye level. Remarkable for a‘colonial’, a female, a first submission, and the first Tasmanian-born artist tobe exhibited at the RA! The same year, Ada exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Hibernian and the Paris Salon to considerable acclaim.