Botanical Art and the Amazing Marianne North

A Medley of Flowers from Table Mountain, Cape of Good Hope (detail)

“I am a very wild bird, and like liberty.”

Before the invention of photography, botanical illustration was the only way to visually record scientifically accurate plant specimens. The artists who devoted themselves to this field had to be technically proficient in their medium as well as highly educated in horticulture. They also had to either have access to specimens to work from, or, the ability to travel to the locations of the plant species they were illustrating. Scientists, pharmacists and gardeners depended on these illustrations for plant identification and classification. In addition to their scientific value, many of these illustrations were beautiful paintings.

The origins of botanical art can be seen in the drawings found on the walls of temples in Egypt dating from around 1,500 BC. The first known use of botanical illustrations put together into a book is thou…