New Flowering: 1000 Years Of Botanical Art

*foreword by Prince Charles, contributions by noted experts in the field *for the first time, the finest historical botanical art is displayed alongside remarkable contemporary work *shows the world famous collection of Dr. Shirley Sherwood

There is beauty and technical perfection in the art of botany and the criteria for excellence has remained fairly unchanged. The magnificent old, the masterful new in this lavish new publication centuries old plant portraits and those painted today stand side by side. This is a stunning testament to the uniqueness and artistry of a genre that is having a renaissance among collectors and scholars.

From the collection of Dr. Shirley Sherwood with additional material that are treasures from Oxfords libraries and museums, the book accompanies the years major exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (running until September 05 and not traveling elsewhere). Until recently many precious botanical paintings were only kept in libraries and royal collections.

From the 17th century onwards, detailed and acute observation has been an essential element in these works that so perfectly reflect nature. The oldest image here is a thistle painted by a monk around the year 1080, the most recent is Angela Mirros painting of a rare Peruvian slipper orchid, discovered in 2002. Exciting material comes from the Golden Age of Botanical art in the 18th century. Fifteenth and 17th century herbals and painted flowers bordering Flemish Book of Hours illuminated manuscripts are shown with contemporary artist Susannah Blaxills Beetroot and violets and roses by Paul Jones and Helga Hislop. The intrepid artist-traveler recurs as a theme (they often accompanied expeditions and brought to light new species) as with the contributions of Ferdinand Bauer (1760-1826) to the Levant and Australia and Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717) to Surinam. Very important in the story are paintings by Margaret Mee (1909-1988) to the Amazon which contributed so much to our awareness of protecting the rainforest.

Illustrations are in full and in close-ups revealing subtleties of anatomy, color, shape and scientific information. The book contains a discussion about the requirements for the scientific elements of botanical illustration and an essay on printing techniques. One of two prefaces has been written by Prince Charles.

Dr. Sherwood is a world authority and a leading collector and scholar on contemporary as well as historical botanical art. She is vice chairman of the Royal Horticultural Societys picture committee and on the board of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.