Botanical Illustration: Women in Botanical Art

The magnificent old, the masterful new, this is the premise in this lush publication with 180 plant portraits that span 1,000 years. These portraits were selected from the unique collection of Dr. Shirley Sherwood and from the rich treasures of Oxford's libraries and museums.

Shirley Sherwood is a major exponent of contemporary botanical art and her collection of over 400 works has been shown all over the world. Her love of this artistic subject has prompted her to start botanical art classes, led by leading artists in the field, in order to encourage new artists around the globe. Originally done to provide a visual record of plants from as long ago as the Ancient World, it reached its heyday during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries with artists such as Redoute, the Bauer Brothers and Ehret, creating masterpieces that were collected avidly for both their artistic merit and their scientific value. Still popular today, it is found adorning stationery items, wallpaper and textiles and is undergoing a resurgence of interest, in part due to Shirley wanting to share her passion with others. From the black and white pen and ink studies of Francesca Anderson, the almost photographic style of Raymond Booth to the botany book style of Regine Hagerdom and the perfection of Manko Imai, this collection of prints demonstrates the art of botanical drawing is very much alive today, not just here in Britain but around the globe. It has not only prospered but is continuing to develop in new and exciting ways and this beautiful work showcases the talents that are around today. - Lucy Watson

Botanical Visions: The Art of MF Cardamone is filled with one hundred attention grabbing, full-color reproductions of Cardamone's singular art. Including an essay by Julie Sasse, PhD, chief curator at the Tucson Museum of Art, this monograph showcases intriguing art that takes tradition for a spin.

Dr. Shirley Sherwood toured the world over a period of five years. The result is more than 100 stunning pieces that offer a global view of contemporary botanical art.

This beautiful catalog features the work of 14 women artists who have painted plants at BBG, with commentary by curator Patricia Jonas. Paintings, scientific illustrations, herbarium specimens, preparatory sketches, and objects of material culture explore the boundaries between art, science, and craft and invite us to see plants with fresh eyes.

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Marianne North was an English naturalist and remarkable botanical artist who traveled to more than a dozen countries in the course of more than a decade spent painting the tropical and exotic plants of the world. Despite having no formal artistic training and a rather unconventional technique, North documented her subjects in situ with a scientific accuracy that continues to impress botanists today. More than eight hundred of her detailed, brightly colored paintings are displayed in Kew's Marianne North Gallery, which was built under her patronage and opened in 1882.

Fully illustrated and including a stunning eight-page fold-out, this engaging and accessible account provides an overview of North's spirited work, life, and travels as well as a concise history of the popular gallery—newly restored and refurbished—where almost all her paintings hang. The Marianne North Gallery is among Kew's finest attractions, and this exquisite volume captures its magic to perfection.

Jee-Yeon Koo has been a fine arts painter for many years, having received her MFA at Chung Ang University, Seoul, Korea. In 1998 she completed the Certificate of Botanical Art and Illustration at the New York Botanical Garden. Her botanical art has been exhibited widely. In 1999 she received the "Best of Show" award at the Art In Science International Exhibition at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Missouri. Jee-Yeon Koo's art is in many public and private collections around the world.

Art meets science in this book that aims to give readers a sense of some contemporary scientific discoveries that are changing our understanding of plant relationships. 136 botanical paintings from the Shirley Sherwood Collection, by 84 artists, cover 50 orders of plants in 118 families, and a total of 133 species, providing a sweeping overview of the evolution of plants on earth. The paintings display a sampling of the plant world from fungi to daisies, including algae, mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants arranged in the most up to date evolutionary sequence, determined by recent DNA analysis. The text places each artist’s observations as displayed in the paintings, in the context of modern plant classification, providing readers with a new understanding of the complex interrelationships between plant species, and enhancing their appreciation of the botanical artist’s ability to portray the delicate beauty of nature.

Since the early 1970s, horticultural expert Jack Kramer has been collecting works by Victorian women artists. Women of Flowers is his tribute to those women who received so little credit in their own day and age. Over 150 floral paintings and prints illustrate the life stories of 35 women artists from America, England, Germany, and France. In this elegant and charming gift book, hundreds of dazzling full-color floral paintings and botanical prints illustrate the fascinating life stories of Victorian women artists who made tremendous contributions to the art and science of botany. Most received little or no recognition for their work due to the patriarchal Victorian society that they lived in. Women of Flowers pays homage to these remarkable artists in a volume that compiles not only their history and biographies but also some of their best work.