Zeng Xiaolian (B. 1939) "Rhododendron Fortunei" Original Watercolor. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the China 80fen Rhododendron stamp issued June 25, 1991. Born in 1939 in Yunnan Province, Zeng Xiao Lian is a talented Chinese artist. He worked as a senior engineer of the Botanical Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, Zeng Xiao Lian received artistic training in Beijing. The artist has painted a series of beautiful botanical images of flowers and birds. These accurate detailed images have been published in more than fifty books, including "Flora of China", "Flora and Rhododendrons Yunnan" and others. Paintings by Zeng Xiao Lian participated in numerous national exhibitions in China, as well as in the United States, Canada and Australia. In 1856, Robert Fortune discovered deep in eastern China the breathtaking creamy-pink flowers of a beautiful new species of Rhododendron. This plant often attains a height of 12 feet, exhibiting clusters of its multi-petaled flowers from its slender stalks. R. fortunei, named for its discoverer, is now found in gardens throughout the world, an ever-popular evergreen variety of the beautiful Rhododendron. Image Size: 9.25 x 11.75 in. Overall Size: 12 x 13.75 in. Unframed. (B13060)