Female Botanical Illustrators

Women Botanical illustrators,Mrs Loudon,plant drawings,botany

  • Elizabeth Blackwell (1700-1758) , ‘Herbarium Blackwellianum emendatum et auctum est Collectio Stirpium’

    Elizabeth Blackwell (1700-1758) , ‘Herbarium Blackwellianum emendatum et auctum est Collectio Stirpium’, published by Norimbergae: Typis Joseph Freischmanni, 1750-1773. NAL Pressmark: 48.B.19. (Plate 561 ‘Aconitum magnum’)

    Elizabeth Blackwell (1700-1758)
    'Herbarium Blackwellianum emendatum et auctum est Collectio Stirpium'
    Published by Norimbergae: Typis Joseph Freischmanni
    1750-1773
    NAL Pressmark: 48.B.19 (Plate 561 'Aconitum magnum')

    Elizabeth Blackwell was the author of 'A Curious Herbal' a book used by the medical students of the day as the definitive guide to all medicinal plants.  She was able to engrave and hand colour the prints herself and worked tirelessly to make money for her husband who was in prison. When he was executed in 1747, she stopped working and appears to have died alone.

  • Maria Sybylla Merian (1647-1717), ‘Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke’

    Maria Sybylla Merian (1647-1717), ‘Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke’, published by J.F. Barnard, Amsterdam, 1730, NAL Pressmark: 48.E.9. (Plate 37 )

    Maria Sybylla Merian (1647-1717)
    'Over de voortteeling en wonderbaerlyke'
    Published by J.F. Barnard
    Amsterdam
    1730
    NAL Pressmark: 48.E.9. (Plate 37 ).

    Maria Sibylla Merian married an artist but was obliged to fend for herself through painting and embroidery commissions when the union went bad. Although her main interest was insects her plant illustrations are second to none and were sought after even during her lifetime.

  • Clara Maria Pope (1768-1838) , ‘A monograph on the genus Camellia’

    Clara Maria Pope (1768-1838) , ‘A monograph on the genus Camellia’, J.&A.A. Cornhill, London, 1819, reprint, (NAL Pressmark: 110.A.22). ‘Anemone flowered or Waratah camellia’

    Clara Maria Pope  (1768-1838) 
    'A monograph on the genus Camellia'
    Published by J.&A.A. Cornhill
    London
    1819 (reprint)
    (NAL Pressmark: 110.A.22). 'Anemone flowered or Waratah camellia'.

    Clara Popewas a gifted miniaturist and portraitist who exhibited at the Royal Academy, but it was her botanical illustrations which meant the most to her.  After contributing to Botanical Magazine she was asked by William Curtis to illustrate his monumental work  A monograph on the genus Camellia.  Although these beautiful, detailed paintings are as accomplished as any of her contemporaries, Clara Pope's name is now largely forgotten.

  • Anne Pratt (1806-1893), ‘The field

    Anne Pratt (1806-1893), ‘The field, the garden and the woodland’, published by C. Knight, London, 1847, NAL Pressmark: Forster 12mo 7140. (Page 20)

    Anne Pratt (1806-1893)
    'The field, the garden and the woodland'
    Published by C. Knight,
    London
    1847
    NAL Pressmark: Forster 12mo 7140. (Page 20).

    Anne Pratt managed to make a good living from her work during her eighty seven years. She was a prolific author and illustrator and all of her books sold well. Her illustrations, although sometimes criticised for lack of botanical detail, show great technical skill and have now become collector's items.

  • Charlotte Sowerby (1820-1865), ‘The illustrated bouquet

    Charlotte Sowerby (1820-1865), ‘The illustrated bouquet, consisting of figures with descriptions of new flowers Vol. 1’, published by E.G. Henderson & Son, London, 1857-1864, NAL Pressmark: 48.B.29 (Plate XXV ‘Gladiolus’)

    Charlotte Sowerby (1820-1865)
    'The illustrated bouquet, consisting of figures with descriptions of new flowers Vol. 1'
    Published by E.G. Henderson & Son
    London
    1857-1864
    NAL Pressmark:  48.B.29
    (Plate XXV 'Gladiolus').

    Almost nothing is known of Charlotte Sowerby, except that she was one of a talented family of botanical artists and that she produced illustrations of the highest standard.

  • Augusta Withers (1792-1869) ‘The illustrated bouquet, consisting of figures with descriptions of new flowers Vol. 3’

    Augusta Withers (1792-1869) ‘The illustrated bouquet, consisting of figures with descriptions of new flowers Vol. 3’, E.G. Henderson & Son, London, 1857-1864, NAL Pressmark: 48.B.31 (Plate LXXVIII ‘Methonica’)

    Augusta Withers (1792-1869)
    'The illustrated bouquet, consisting of figures with descriptions of new flowers Vol. 3'
    Published by E.G. Henderson & Son
    London
    1857-1864.
    NAL Pressmark:  48.B.31 (Plate LXXVIII 'Methonica')

    When Augusta Withers died destitute and alone in 1869, her work was largely unacknowledged  and  valueless, but she was perhaps one of the greatest of all the illustrators, able to tackle any kind of plant and flower. In her prime she produced hundreds of drawings and paintings for journals and worked on the colossal Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala by James Bateman.