Born Celia Elizabeth Prince,[1][2] she began painting Australian wildflowers early in her artistic career.

Her first exhibition was at Leveson Gallery in Melbourne in 1965, and included three watercolours of Banksia species.

In 1974 she was appointed University Botanical Artist, and began the project of painting every Banksia species.

The project took over 25 years to complete, and resulted in the publication of a three volume monograph entitled The Banksias, with accompanying text by Alex George.

"Banksia Lady Celia Rosser, Botanical Artist" by Carolyn Landon, Monash University Press 2015, ISBN 9781922235800 DEWEY NUMBER 759.994