Before the invention of photography and long time after, botanical art was the only way to record accurately the different species of plants. The work of the botanical illustrator required great skill and technical knowledge. The botany illustrations from the 18th and 19th century are important resources for the history of botany. Many vanished cultivated plants are only known from illustrations and antique flower prints.
Here are some of the main online resources for botanical art for the botanical history or botany illustration enthusiast:
Botanical Art at Kew Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew holds one of the world's greatest collections of botanical art. Some of the botany illustrations are of extinct plant species for which the botanical artwork is the only surviving record. As such botanical art is important for horticulture, taxonomy and the history of botany in general. Kew Gardens holds work from one of the most prolific botanical artists, Walter Hood Fitch, who illustrated the books of famous 19thC botanist, Joseph Dalton Hooker.
Botanical art resources at Kew include
- more than 200,000 prints and drawings from masters of botanical illustration and many special collections including Joseph Hooker's original sketches from his Sikkim travels.
- a website - a magnificent online resource for the history of botany - to be found under Scientific Research & Data, Science Databases, Rare Books and Illustrations, featuring the Hortus Nitidissimis, one of the great flower books of the 1700s with exquisite botanical illustrations.
- an online gallery of botany illustrations and antique flower prints (among which Hooker's rhododendrons) available to buy.
Botanical Art at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)
The Lindley Library of the RHS in London holds a collection of botanical art unique in the UK and the world with some 30,000 original botanical illustrations dating from the 17th century. The website includes online resources of botanical art drawn from the archives among which
- over 100 drawings (pen and ink)
- watercolours
- print illustrations
Antique flower prints, framed prints, canvas prints and framed canvas prints are available to buy. The Lindley Library at RHS holds some 7,000 drawings of orchids and a selection of books on rhododendrons.
Botany Illustrations at the National History Museum
The Natural History Museum in London holds an important collection of botany illustrations and its website features a gallery of botanical drawings and engravings prepared by the artists Parkinson, Miller and Nodder during Captain Hook's historic voyage aboard the HMS Endeavour (1768-1771). Parkinson who made the first sketches died from a fever during the journey.
Online Resources of Botanical Art at Victoria & Albert Museum
Information about botanical art and a collection of botany illustrations and antique flower prints can be found in the Study Room of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The museum provides online resources of botanical art on its website. The botanical images date from the 15th century to the present day. Images are clickable for larger versions and more information.
Related Articles on Botanical Art
Walter Fitch, Drawing Master of Botanical Art: Flower Paintings or How to Draw Plants
Sources
Kew Gardens website
Royal Horticultural Society website
Natural History Museum website
Victoria and Albert Museum website
 |
 |
