Hunt Institute: Past Exhibitions

2 October 1961–16 March 1963
Informal installations of artworks in the boardroom (now the gallery) periodically changed during this period.

18 August–8 November 1963
Adanson exhibition (books, manuscripts, letters, photographs, and [from Sénégal] botanical specimens and artifacts)
(catalogue, out-of-print)

21 April–1 August 1963
Exhibition of Redoutéana
(Paintings, letters, documents, and books illustrated by Pierre-Joseph Redouté)
(catalogue, out-of-print; checklist, out-of-print)

13 November 1963–30 March 1964
Prints and illustrations from herbals of the 15th–17th century

6 April–1 September 1964
Contemporary Botanical Art & Illustration (1st International)
(catalogue, out-of-print)

7 September 1964–29 April 1965
The 17th Century Florilegia: Prints and Books

2 May–15 October 1965
Botanical Paintings by Andrey Avinoff
(checklist, out-of-print)

17 October 1965–15 May 1966
Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden: Botanical Illustrations
(checklist, out-of-print)

19 May–31 October 1966
Botanical Art of the 18th and 19th Century: Prints, Drawings and Paintings

6 November 1966–25 March 1967
Botanical Linocuts by Henry Evans
(checklist, out-of-print)

1 May–1 July 1967
An Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration: Lee Adams (Tropical Fruits and Flowers)

1 May–6 October 1967
Georg D. Ehret (A Selection of His Botanical Paintings)
(checklist, out-of-print)

6 July–6 October 1967
Decorative Flower and Fruit Prints and Paintings of 1750–1850

12 November 1967–15 April 1968
Cynthia Newsome-Taylor: Paintings for Flower and Gardening Books
(checklist, out-of-print)

20 April–11 October 1968
19th Century Botanical Prints and Paintings

20 October 1968–15 April 1969
2nd International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

21 April–20 June 1969
Spring Exhibition:
Peter Takal: Botanical Graphics
Elfriede M. Abbe: Botanical Sculptures
Noris P. Jones: Parchment Flower Arrangements
(checklist, out-of-print)

20 June–15 October 1969
Paintings from 17th–19th Century Albums in the Hunt Institute Collection

1 November 1969–15 April 1970
Paintings, Drawings, Prints of Lilies from the Hunt Institute Collection

4–29 May 1970
Paintings by E. Margaret Stones for the Endemic Flora of Tasmania

19 April–10 October 1970
Lotte Günthart Paintings, Drawings and Prints (A retrospective exhibit)
(catalogue, out-of-print)

9 September–31 December 1970
Mrs. Gene Williams: Ceramic Mushrooms and Other Fungi

18 October 1970–10 April 1971
An Exhibition of Paintings by Jack Kunz (forestry paintings)
(catalogue, out-of-print)

26 April–15 October 1971
Plants–Mostly Tropical: An Exhibition of Drawings and Paintings by Marion Ruff Sheehan
(checklist, out-of-print)

25 October 1971–31 March 1972
Animal, Vegetable and Mineral: Paintings by Claus Caspari
(checklist, out-of-print)

17 April–30 June 1972
Homegrown–Pittsburgh Artists on Plant Subjects
(checklist, out-of-print)

17 April –August 1972
Thomas Patterson–Bookbinder
(checklist, out-of-print)

August–October 1972
Selections from the Hunt Institute Collection (paintings, drawings and prints)

12 November 1972–30 March 1973
3rd International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue, out-of-print)

16 April–18 May 1973
Students Botanically Involved
(exhibition of 60 works by art students of Carnegie Mellon University, including graphic arts, jewelry, glassblowing and architectural models

3 June–14 September 1973
Jeanne Holgate: Paintings and Drawings
(checklist, out-of-print)

3 June 1973
Opening of Linnaean Room housing the Strandell Collection of Linnaeana
(catalogue: A Linnaean Keepsake)

1 October 1973–28 February 1974
Paintings and Drawings by Frederick A. Walpole
(checklist, out-of-print)

March– ? 1974
23 Designers (Carnegie Mellon University Design Department)

1 April 1974–13 September 1974
Artists from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
(catalogue, out-of-print)

14 October 1974–14 February 1975
Homegrown II–Pittsburgh Area Artists on Plant Subjects
(checklist, out-of-print)

3 March–21 March 1975
Senior Design Department show
(Carnegie Mellon University Design Department)

7 April–26 September 1975
Paintings and Drawings by Mary Grierson
(checklist, out-of-print)

3 November 1975–27 February 1976
Five West Coast Printmakers: Walter Cleveland, Henry Evans, Henry Mockel, Kenjilo Nanao, Marvin Spohn
(checklist, out-of-print)

4 April–30 July 1976
American Cornucopia: 19th Century Still Lifes and Studies
(checklist, out-of-print)

August–October 1976
Prints and Drawings from the Collection

1 November 1976–25 March 1977
American Wildflowers: National Geographic Illustrations by Mary Eaton
(brochure, out-of-print)

18 April–30 September 1977
Flowers of the World: Paintings by Leslie Greenwood
(checklist, out-of-print)

6 November 1977–31 March 1978
4th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue, out-of-print)

24 April–15 September 1978
Homegrown III

Spring 1979
Student Show?

14 May–14 September 1979
Northeast Folio: Exhibition of Works by Contemporary Botanical Printmakers
(publication: Northeast Folio — portfolio of prints by 17 contemporary printmakers, including 8 in color by Lowell Nesbitt, Alex Katz, Gaboh Peterdi, Hugh Kepets, Arcadia Olenska-Petryshyn, Jacques Hnizdovsky, Elaine Simel and Tjelda Michas, out-of-print)

20 November 1978–16 February 1979
Reflections from the Third Day: Photographic Revelations of Plant Design
(catalogue, out-of-print)

12 November 1979–15 February 1980
The Tradition of Fine Bookbinding in the Twentieth Century
(catalogue, out-of-print)

31 March–18 July 1980
A Selection of Late 18th and Early 19th Century Indian Botanical Paintings
(Commissioned by the Honourable East India Company and Executed in Watercolor by Native Artists)
(catalogue, out-of-print)

20 October 1980–13 March 1981
Kate Greenaway
(catalogue, out-of-print; poster)

30 March–5 June 1981
Nosegays and Bouquets: Flower and Fruit Arrangements in Western Art
(checklist, out-of-print)

29 June–18 September 1981
Drawings and Bronze Sculptures by Nancy Webb

26 October–6 March 1982
Selections from the Torner Collection of Sessé and Mociño Biological Illustrations

5 April–16 July 1982
Talking in Flowers: Japanese Botanical Art
(catalogue, out-of-print)

23 August–24 September 1982
Cloud Flowers: Rhododendrons East and West
(organized by the Botanical Garden of the University of British Columbia)

25 October 1982–26 February 1983
Cacti and Succulents
(poster)

11 April–15 July 1983
5th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue; poster )

24 October 1983–24 February 1984
Flora Portrayed: Classics of Botanical Art from the Hunt Institute Collection
(catalogue, out-of-print; poster)

16 April–15 June 1984
Still-Lifes and Nature Studies from the George J. McDonald Collection
(checklist; poster)

19 November 1984–28 February 1985
Linger Golden Light
(50 recent paintings and drawings of floral subjects by Lotte Günthart)
(catalogue, out-of-print; poster)

22 April–19 July 1985
For Love of Nature: Brazilian Flora and Fauna in Watercolor by Etienne, Rosália and Yvonne Demonte
(catalogue, out-of-print; poster)
(Also at Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, 17 February–4 May 1986 and National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, 14 November 1986–4 January 1987)

21 April–31 July 1986
Printmaking in the Service of Botany
(catalogue)

20 April–13 June 1987
Flowers of the Amazon: Watercolors by Margaret Mee

12 November 1986–28 February 1987
Fields of Grass: The Varied Uses of Grasses
(Organized by Smithsonian Institution and Hunt Institute to complement Symposium on Grass Semantics and Evolution at Smithsonian Institution)

6 November–18 December 1987
Mouton Rothschild Paintings for the Labels (40 works created by contemporary artists for labeling Mouton Rothschild wines)

8 April–31 July 1988
6th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

13 October–16 December 1988
Flowers from the Royal Gardens of Kew: Two Centuries of Curtis's Botanical Magazine
(catalogue)

6 November 1989–23 February 1990
Botanical Watercolors by Marilena Pistoia

8 November 1990–1 March 1991
Orchids from the Hunt Institute Collection

9 July–21 October 1991
Pretty Deadly: Poisonous Plants of Forest, Field and Garden
(prepared and presented by The Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation in cooperation with Pittsburgh Poison Center and Phipps Conservatory)
On display at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

13 April–31 July 1992
7th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

15 November 1993–31 March 1994
Ensigns of the Rainbow Goddess

17 November 1994–24 February 1995
Natural-History Paintings from Rajasthan
(catalogue)
Rajasthan is the desert state in northwest India, known for its art, handicrafts, poetry, music and literature, beautiful palaces and rugged forts. The exhibition will contain almost 80 watercolors and drawings depicting fruits, flowers, still lifes, birds, cows, elephants, lions, Sufi saints and colorful figures. The artists are from Jaipur and Bikaner.

From Jaipur are Damodar Lal Gurjar, Jaggu Prasad, brothers Ramesh and Suresh Sharma, and Vijay Kumar. From Bikaner is Mahaveer Swami, one of the best artists from India. He is expected to demonstrate his technique about the time of our opening in Pittsburgh. He is one of the illustrators of Naveen Patnaik's The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India . Though some of the works in the exhibition are copies of other paintings or photographs in natural-history books, Gurjar's technique in particular has been called incredible by colleagues and visiting artists.

The exhibition traveled to Wave Hill, an estate owned by the City of New York, for display in March and April 1995.

13 April–14 July 1995
Botanical Watercolors by British Artists Andrew P. Brown and John Wilkinson

17 August–22 October 1995
Gary Bukovnik: Watercolors and Monoprints
(catalogue, out-of-print)
(collaborative exhibit with Concept Art Gallery)

Cleveland born and educated Gary Bukovnik is a Slovene-American artist who has lived in San Francisco for over 30 years. Watercolors and Monoprints, which was exhibited at the Jakopic Gallery in Ljubljana, Slovenia, was organized by Slovenska Izseljenska Matica, a government agency that maintains ties with Slovene immigrants and people of Slovene descent in order to promote cultural exchange. In selecting flowers as his principal subject, Bukovnik expresses his ardent and long-term artistic interest in flowers and blooming plants. Brooklyn Museum Curator Barry Walker has remarked that Bukovnik “has taken from the past what he could use and filtered it through a twentieth-century sensibility. In the process, he has redefined the way we look at flowers.” Although he uses several media, including lithography and aquatint, he primarily works in watercolor and monotype. Bukovnik creates floral images of great depth and intensity. Hunt Institute Curator James White suggests that in a Bukovnik watercolor one may see “both delicate and strong lines used to rough in the composition, brilliant color, large scale, and sometimes an interesting container (or more often a simple glass of water), usually set against a deliberate absence of background. In some of his compositions, the space left unpainted is as important as that painted. Bukovnik’s intention is to have his images appear easily drawn, never labored. His work is romantic, emotional, and intense.” Judith Gordon, in an opening essay for the 1990 book Flowers: Gary Bukovnik Watercolors and Monotypes, has hailed Bukovnik’s paintings as “the work of an artist who is well-acquainted with the form of flowers as with their spirit.” Bukovnik’s artwork is represented in diverse private, corporate, and public collections, including those of the H. J. Heinz Company, Citibank, the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as Hunt Institute. His work has been featured in numerous one-person and group exhibitions in this country and in Europe. He also donates his art to community and civic organizations such as the San Francisco Symphony.

13 November 1995–29 February 1996
8th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

This exhibit contained 109 artworks by 87 artists from Brazil, England, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, People’s Republic of China, Québec, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States, including loans from the Japan Association of Botanical Illustration, Jardí Botànic de Barcelona, Cines Academy of Sciences, various colleges and institutions in India, and galleries in London and the United States. Selections from the full exhibit were included in a travel show circulated to museums, schools, botanic gardens and other institutions. The Institute hosted the first meeting of the American Society of Botanical Artists, founded by artist Diane Bouchier of New York.

Artists included in the exhibit are: Anna Stone Asquith, Jeni Barlow, Krisztina Bíró, John Lionel Booker, Diane Bouchier, Wendy Brockman, Andrew Peter Brown, Imma Busquet i Pujó, Cai Shuqin, Alejandro Cánovas Iserte, Chen Rong-dao, Joaquim Conca i Grau, Lynette R. Cook, Mary Ann Currier, Claire Dalby, Pauline Margaret Dean, Annette de Jonquières, M. D. Dhoundiyal, Aljos Farjon, Ann Farrer, Maria Àngels Feliu, Katharine Flynn, Jacqueline M. Gnott, Algirdas Grigas, Irina Gronborg, Audrey A. Hardcastle, Lyn Hayden, Toni Hayden, Joanne Hayes, Lisa Holley, Mercedes Iborra Valiente, John Stuart Ingle, Jamshed Pirojshaw Irani, Mieko Ishikawa, Sally Keir, Bhola Ram Kharey, Sanae Kikuchi, Yuriko Kikuchi, June Kluglein, Hidenari Kobayashi, Mieko Konishi, Pollyana Maria Lidmark, Jurgis Macys, Alfonso Samuel Blaise Madden, Alister Mathews, Xavier Millán i Calero, Sharron L. O’Neil, Luca Massenzio Palermo, Ronaldo Luis Pangella, Katherine Anne Pickles, Mohammad Rafiquddin, G. Rajasekaran, Kay Rees-Davies, Luigi Rist, Leonhard Roermer, Nirad Chandra Rout, Deborah Rubin, Angela Marie Russo, Graham Rust, Hendrik R. Rypkema, Masao Saito, Hari Om Saxena, Benjamin Shaw, Siriol Ann Sherlock, Akiko Shimizu, Annika Silander-Hökerberg, Yvonne Skargon, Louise Margaret Smith, Henry Stempen, Margaret Stevens, Dylan Stone, Mahaveer Swami, Raju Swami, Ann Swan, Geraldine King Tam, Mary Tarraway, Nobuko Uno, Arundhati Parashuram Vartak, Linda Vorobik, Carol Woodin, Christine Woodman, Eleanor B. Wunderlich, Peggy Wyatt, Xu Meijuan, Olga Zaitseva, Zhang Chun-fang, Zhang Da-cheng.

1 April–31 May 1996
Japonica Magnifica: Paintings by Raymond Booth

This exhibition celebrated the beauty of Japanese flowers and plants through the original botanical paintings and drawings of artist and horticulturist Raymond Booth. The 80 artworks that were on display were the originals featured in the book Japonica Magnifica (Elick, D. and R. Booth, 1992, Stroud, Gloucestershire: A. Sutton; London: Fine Art Society; Portland, Or., USA: Sagapress/Timber Press). The exhibition and book represented the collaboration between artist Raymond Booth and botanist Don Elick. Booth has maintained a 12-year correspondence with Elick, who has lived and collected plants in Japan for over 40 years. Elick provide many of the specimens for the artist, who grew them in his garden in Yorkshire, England, in order to study them and draw them from life. Each plant portrait is true to scale. Booth’s botanical paintings are remarkably accurate, including graphite depictions or Japanese plant habitats that the artist himself has never seen. Although he works in various media, he favors painting in oil on sized paper, an unusual medium for flower subjects.

Booth is a graduate of the Leeds College of Art and divides his time between botanical painting and the cultivation of rare and exotic plants. His work is regularly exhibited at The Fine Art Society in London, where he has had three solo exhibitions. In 1984, a retrospective exhibition of his work was presented at several galleries in his native Yorkshire. Booth has won awards at Royal Horticultural Society exhibitions.

16 September–6 December 1996
Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection

After studying botany at Oxford, Dr. Shirley Sherwood had intended to become a botanical illustrator but instead became involved with medical research, later traveling throughout the world and writing and editing her own publications. This collection, housed in England and undoubtedly the finest of contemporary botanical art in private hands, was assembled in a five-year period. The remarkable feat is due not solely to her background as a biologist, or her opportunities for extensive travel, but to a discerning eye and a passion to seek out only the finest contemporary painters. With this exhibition she hoped to introduce these artists to a wider public.

The exhibition, international in scope, debuted at the Kew Gardens Gallery, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Following the Hunt Institute display this exhibition traveled extensively through out the United States and then to various venues worldwide.
Works on display included works by Francesca Anderson, Gillian Barlow, Hellen Batten, Elizabeth Blackwell, Susannah Blaxill, Raymond Booth, Jenny Brasier, Andrew Peter Brown, Richard Carroll, Alison Cooper, Pauline M. Dean, Annette De Jonquieres, Etienne Demonte, Rosalia Demonte, Yvonne Demonte, Jakob Demus, Brigid Edwards, Ann Farrer, Jinyong Feng, Linda Funk, Yoshio Futakuchi, Mary Grierson, Gillian Griffiths, Noel Grunwaldt, Coral Guest, Josephine Hague, Christine Hart-Davies, Helen Haywood, Helga Hislop, Jenne Hogate, Mariko Imai, Paul Jones, Christabel King, Mariko Kojima, Viet Martin Kunz, Joanna Langhorne, Katie Lee, Petr Liska, Katherine Manisco, John Matyas, Rory McEwen, Margaret Mee, Mitsuhara Mishima, Kate Nessler, Jenny Phillips, Marilena Pistoia, Jaggu Prasad, Celia Rosser, Graham Rust, Rosanne Sanders, Margaret A. Saul, Gillian Scott, Pandora Sellars, Vijay Kumar Sharma, Siriol Sherlock, Shiela Siegerman, Annika Silander-Hokerberg, Alan and Arthur Singer, Pamela Stagg, Margaret Stones, Jessica Tcherepine, Michiko Toyota, Yoko Uchijo, Arundhati Vartak, Alexander Viazmensky, Ellaphie Ward-Hilhorst, and Tai-Li Zhang.

An accompanying book by Sherwood, Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection, edited by Victoria Matthews, was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in association with The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and subsequently by Abbeville in the United States. The 240-page book contains 263 full-color illustrations by more than 100 artists from 17 countries around the world.

17 March–30 May 1997
Kate Nessler: Wildflowers of Baker Prairie

This exhibit of Kate Nessler’s watercolors included 35 watercolors depicting wild plants that grow in the Baker Prairie Natural Area, a tract of 71 acres (most of it virgin grassland), in Harrison, Arkansas. The traveling exhibition was a joint endeavor of Ms. Nessler, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, and the Arkansas Arts Council. Nessler began painting the prairie wildflowers in April 1993 and completed the last painting in the fall of 1994. In documenting the wildflowers and grasses of the prairie through the seasons, she intended to “create a traveling exhibit for artistic and educational purposes…[and] increase public awareness of the beauty and fragility of such a prairie.” Kate Nessler lives in Kingston, Arkansas. Throughout her years as a botanical artist, her botanical subjects have included wildflowers, garden bouquets and orchids, and she has won numerous awards, including three gold medals from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in London. Both the Hunt Institute and RHS hold Nessler artworks in their permanent collections, and her paintings are also in many private collections around the world.

9 October 1997–28 February 1998
Botanical art by Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770)

This exhibition of 40 watercolors on paper and vellum, and books that include engravings of Ehret’s work were selected from the Institute’s extensive collection of paintings by the artist. Born in Heidelberg and apprenticed as a gardener, Ehret was a prominent botanical artist. He moved to England to illustrate some of the 18th century’s most sumptuous botanical color-plate works. His commissions were from wealthy patrons and from botanists; countesses and duchesses were among his pupils. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society, the only foreigner to be so honored.

9 April–4 September 1998
Fruits, Vegetables and Flowers: Super-realistic Paintings by Masao Saito

This was Saito’s first one-person exhibition outside Japan. The artist is a free-lance illustrator specializing in acrylic watercolor. A master of airbrush technique, Saito has written books on super-realist illustration, including botanical subjects, and made videos on his technique of illustrating fruits, vegetables, and other food. He has won awards in Japan and in London for advertising, calendars and posters. His “Motorcycle 750” and “Strawberry Cake” are in the collection of the Miyagi Prefectural Museum in Japan. The Hunt Institute displayed 50 of Saito’s paintings.

12 October 1998–26 February 1999
9th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

This exhibition contained 109 artworks by 76 artists from Brazil, Canada, England, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Japan, South Africa, The People's Republic of China and the United States, including loans from the Japan Association of Botanical Illustration and individuals throughout the world. Selections from the full exhibition were included in a travel show that will be circulated to museums, schools, botanic gardens and other institutions.

The artists were Suezan Aikins, Mary Chambers Bauschelt, Marcus Beaven, Elizabeth Beemster, Marjorie Blamey, Robin Brickman, Alison Brown, Steve Buchanan, Lucilla Carcano, Zoë Carter, Milena Casadei, John Cody, Jill Coombs, Elisabeth Dowle, Beverly Duncan, Mary Emily Eaton, Lady Margaret Ann Eden, Elvia Esparza Alvarado, Richard Fiorino, Sylvia Ford, Rei Fukuzawa, Joan Geyer, A. Margaret Graeb, Josephine Muriel Hague, Yvonne Hammond, Georita Harriot, Joseph Jeyarani, Yumi Kamataki, Tobin Keller, Martha G. Kemp, Karen Kluglein, Yasuko Kodaka, Margarit Koritar, Joanna Asquith Langhorne, Abby Leigh, Thalia Lincoln, Julia Loken, Ruth MacDonald, Vichai Malikul, Shiela Mannes-Abbott, Carol Ann Morley, Lorraine Moseley, Yasuko Murakami, Trudy Nicholson, Álvaro Nunes, Cathy Pasquale, Carol Paton, Denise Pelletier, Juliet Percy, Valerie Price, A. Rajasekaran, Louisa Rawle, W. Scott Rawlins, Elizabeth Rice, Jane Roberts, Masako Sasaki, Kaho Sawada, Sara Anne Schofield, Pandora Sellars, Elizabeth Smail, Claire Linder Smith, Camilla Speight, Cyril Stocks, Marjorie Stodgell, Judi Stone, Fumiko Sugizaki, Kiyohiko Sugizaki, Aurora Tazza, Kazuko Tajikawa, Miyako Takahashi, Margaret Tebbs, Hiroshige Usui, Barbara Volas, Kie Yamaguchi, Mu Zang and Xio-lian Zeng.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue with biographical data, portraits of the artists, and reproductions of the artworks is available.

12 April–30 July 1999
Botanical Paintings by James Linton Sain

Fifty paintings in gouache by artist James Linton Sain of Lovingston, Virginia were displayed in this exhibition. Sain's Great White Trillium triptych was in the Institute's 6th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration in 1988, and since that time, Sain has continued to develop as an exceptional botanical artist. He has had one-person exhibitions at the Terrebonne Museum, Houma, Louisiana; Historic Kenmore Museum, Fredericksburg, Virginia; American Horticultural Society, Mount Vernon, Virginia; Adams Davidson Galleries, Washington, D.C.; U.S. National Arboretum, Washington, D.C.; Maier Museum, Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Virginia; and Wintergreen Mountain Village, Wintergreen, Virginia.

16 September 1999–29 February 2000
Portraits of Indian Trees: Arundhati Vartak
(catalogue)
Also:
Arundhati Vartak’s Sketches: Souls of Her Paintings–Chatham College Art Gallery
31 August –25 September 1999

The Hunt Institute in cooperation with Chatham College presented two exhibitions of artworks by Arundhati Vartak of Pune, India.

The Hunt Institute displayed approximately 38 watercolors and Chatham College Gallery of Art displayed reference sketches for her paintings and 2 of her finished paintings. This exhibition was presented by the Chatham College Arboretum and the Landscape Studies program as part of the college’s yearlong celebration of the "Year of South Asia." Nature and art was the subject of a lecture series "Word and Image in Landscape and Nature of South Asia" held at Chatham College Arboretum, and the artist also conducted a botanical art workshop at Chatham College Arboretum.

Working in Pune and Mumbai, India, Arundhati Vartak is inspired by Indian miniature paintings, but relies heavily on her thumbnail sketches and other studies based on a keen observation of her subjects. The artist is also inspired by reading old Sanskrit classics, including works by the poet Kalidasa. Her paintings have been published on greeting cards and postcards produced by the World-Wide Fund for Nature, India; CRY (Child Relief and You); the Society for the Education of the Crippled; the Bombay Natural History Society; and in various books, magazines and newspapers. She has held one-person exhibitions in Mumbai at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Artists' Centre, House of Soviet Culture, and Nehru Centre Art Gallery. Some of her paintings have been included in the Hunt Institute's 8th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration in 1995/1996 and in Contemporary botanical artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection and its accompanying book.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue of a selection of works in both exhibitions is available.

24 April–28 July 2000
Watercolors from the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society

Forty-six watercolors were displayed by members of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society in London. Each artwork illustrated one of the plants currently grown at the Chelsea Physic Garden, and half were named or introduced by Philip Miller, Gardener of the Physic Garden for almost 50 years of the 18th century.

The list of artists included were Helen Allen, Martin Allen, Mariella Baldwin, Gillian Barlow, Valerie Bolas, Valerie Bradburn, Alison Brown, Andrew Brown, Jane Callender, Sally Crosthwaite, Siân Dawson, Pauline Dean, Ainslie Ensom, Kate Evans, Diana Everett, Marilyn Francis, Angie Girling, Sarah Gould, Yvonne Hammond, Ianthe King, Margaret King, Monica McAllen, Barbara McLean, Shirley Ann Nunn, Wendy Alexandra Page, Juliet Percy, Masako Sasaki, Patricia Stewart-Richardson, Judi Stone, Margaret Stones, Judy Wilson.

26 October 2000–28 February 2001
Gifts of Winter
(catalogue)

The winter season is often described as cold, dark and drab but even after the hours of daylight shorten and autumn color declines, there is beauty and delicacy in plant forms. We invite you to view these ?gifts of winter? in artworks and books from the Institute's collection, and in paintings created especially for the exhibition by Richard Carroll, Charles Pitcher and Michael Wheeler.

The artists included Cicely Mary Barker, Ferdinand Lucas Bauer, Richard Carroll, Pieter Casteels, Anne Ophelia Dowden, Elizabeth Dowle, Georg Dionysius Ehret, Stephen Fisher, Kiyoshi Hasegawa, Reinder Homan, Madame Berthe Hoola Van Nooten, Mieko Ishikawa, Owen Jones, Warren Mack, George Mackley, Alan Magee, Stanley Maltzman, Kate Nessler, Marilena Pistoia, Charles Pitcher, Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Mrs. Edward Roscoe, Margaret Stones, Pierre Jean François Turpin, U.S.D.A. Forest Service Collection, Frederick Andrews Walpole, Michael Wheeler, Samuel M. Wickersham, John Wilkinson, Kokei or Kodo Yoshikawa.

Accompanying the exhibition was a full-color illustrated catalogue, which included a sampling of 19th-century poetry related to the season and biographical data on each artist.

24 April–31 July 2001
Enduring Perfection: Paintings by Damodar Lal Gurjar
(catalogue)

Gurjar is influenced by the traditional school of painting from the desert state of Rajasthan, but his technique is a blend of the traditional and contemporary. Certainly he is one of India’s leading artists of natural-history themes and a master at super-realism and depicting textures in his subjects.

Born in 1958 and educated at the Rajasthan School of Art, Gurjar has made his career as a freelance artist painting numerous private commissions in watercolor, gouache and tempera. One-person exhibitions have been held at the Ranthambhore School of Art in Sawai Madhopur (1990) and the Crafts Museum in New Delhi (1994). In 1999 Gurjar received a State Award from the Rajasthan Lalit Kala Academy and an All India Award by the Department of Environment. His work is almost unknown outside of India.

Accompanying the exhibition was a 44-page, full-color catalogue, which was the Institute’s fourth catalogue devoted to art from India.

28 October 2001–28 February 2002
10th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

This show featured 103 artworks by 75 artists from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The artists included Helen Allen, Sergio Allevato, Timothy C. Angell, John Armstrong, Mariella Baldwin, Priscilla Baldwin, Sri K. Benham, Stephanie Berni, Valerie Bolas, Vivian Boswell, Rebecca Brown-Thompson, Elizabeth Jane Bruce, Lynn Callaghan, Lesley Catchpole, Sally Crosthwaite, Moya Davern, Jacqueline Dawson, Sally Emma Dawson, Siân Dawson, Angelique de Folin, Pierino Delvò, Beverley Ednie, Diana Everett, Gillian Foster, Linda Francis, Jenny Freestone, Regine Hagedorn, Carol E. Hamilton, Tadako Hayashi, David Herzig, Barbara Holmer, Constance White Ivey, Hazel Jarvis, Seiko Kijima, Margaret King, Michiko Kobayashi, Jee-Yeon Koo, Deborah Lambkin, Corinne Lapin-Cohen, Nancy Lawton, Chrissie Lightfoot, David Mackay, Masumi Matsuoka, Lee McCaffree, Fiona McKinnon, Mali Moir, Polly Morris, Cindy Nelson-Nold, Terry Nolan, Derek Norman, Anne O’Connor, Wendy Alexandra Page, Rose Pellicano, Ida Hrubesky Pemberton, Jenny Phillips, Bryan Poole, Heather Rankin, Celia Rosser, Takeko Sagara, Roberta Sarchioni, Kanbei Seki, Julie A. Small, Rafael McKenzie Soares, Christine Stephenson, Sheila Thompson, Alisa Tingley, Rufus Toomey, Virginia Tuttle, Omer Van de Kerckhove, Patricia Villela, Jan-Roeland Vos, Richard Wagener, Judy Wilson, Janet Wood and Keiko Yoshida.

The Institute established the International series in 1964 with the hope of supporting and encouraging contemporary botanical artists. Every three years, the International series attracts talented botanical artists from around the world. The works included in the 10th International prove that in the world of art the infinite variety of plant forms and colors still holds special fascination and offers undiminished challenge and delight.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue with biographical data, portraits of the artists, and reproductions of the artworks accompanied the exhibition. Collectively, the ten International catalogues include 890 artists and are the most comprehensive record available of contemporary botanical artists and illustrators.

In conjunction with the opening of the International exhibition, the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) held its annual meeting at Carnegie Mellon University (26–28 October). Hundreds of botanical artists from across the U.S. were in Pittsburgh to attend. Also Anne-Marie Evans, internationally renowned botanical watercolor painting instructor, taught a course at Chatham College (29 October–2 November) that was sponsored by the Institute and the Chatham College Arboretum and Landscape Studies Program.

28 April–31 July 2002
Order from Chaos: Linnaeus Disposes
(also web exhibit)

Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus (1707–1778) devised comprehensive, consistent schemes for classifying and describing plants and animals and for assigning two-word scientific names to all species, thus laying the foundations of modern biological taxonomy. Pages of manuscripts, plant portraits, portraits of botanists and rare books from the Institute’s Archives, Art Department, and Library, including the Strandell Collection of Linnaeana, highlighted the achievements of Carolus Linnaeus in the broader context of botany over two millennia.

The first section of the exhibit set the stage by showing the importance of classical science in shaping subsequent science in the West; the continuity of science through the cultures of the Mediterranean area; the recovery of ancient writings during the Renaissance and the resulting scientific crisis; and the beginnings of a search for a new botanical system. Four pages of a 13th-century Arabic manuscript were displayed here for the first time at Hunt Institute, along with several leaves from a 15th-century incunabulum herbal, Gart der Gesundheit, and a number of books from the 15th and 16th centuries.

The second section showed how Linnaeus drew on the work of his predecessors and contemporaries and developed a coherent system for describing and naming organisms that has continued into the present. It also showed how Linnaeus’ students travelled the globe to explore and collect information and specimens, and how aspects of the Linnaean system have enabled amateurs and professionals worldwide to identify, name and describe plants for more than two centuries. On display were key works by Linnaeus including his Species Plantarum (1753) and Genera Plantarum (1754), which are the starting points for botanical binomial nomenclature. Also displayed were books by some of his contemporaries and students, along with portraits and biographical information, and selected examples of post-Linnaean works showing how aspects of his system have been used from the 18th century into the present day.

The exhibition coincided with an invitational workshop, Linnaean Nomenclature in the 21st Century: A Workshop to Integrate Traditional Nomenclature and Phylogenetic Classification, being held at the Institute on 26–28 June 2002. Co-sponsored by the Hunt Institute and the Department of Botany, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, the workshop developed specific recommendations for a workable integration of traditional Linnaean nomenclature and modern phylogenetic classification such that the advantages of both were retained.

19 September 2002–28 February 2003
Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden: A Blossom on the Bough
(catalogue)

The exhibition, celebrating the artist's 95th birthday, presented an overview of Mrs. Dowden's career as it progressed from textiles to botanical art and illustration, and it included finished watercolors, layouts, and research paintings, along with books and magazines in which her paintings have been reproduced.

Upon graduating from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, she continued to study at the Arts Students League and Beaux Arts Institute of Design where she and four other students were successful at designing wallpapers and drapery fabrics. After teaching at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, she developed the Art Department at Manhattanville College and began preparing paintings of edible wild plants for publication. With the publication of these artworks in Life magazine, Mrs. Dowden's career developed toward botanical illustration. She completed illustration projects for House Beautiful and Natural History and then began writing, designing and illustrating her own books.

Flower pollination always has fascinated the artist, and several of her books deal with this subject - Look at a Flower (1963), The Secret Life of the Flowers (1964), From Flower to Fruit (1984) and The Clover and the Bee (1990). Other themes in her books, published from the early 1960s until 1994, include roses, city weeds, flowers of trees, state flowers, Shakespeare's flowers, plants of the Bible and of Christmas, and poisonous plants.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue included an autobiography by the artist, biographical data and portraits of the artist.

27 April–31 July 2003
American Botanical Prints of Two Centuries
(catalogue)

The exhibition included a sampling of two centuries of American printed plant images, from utilitarian to creative.

The 19th century in America was one of practical botanical printmaking. From the lowliest school textbook to the grandest exploration report, images of plants were required as illustrative extensions to the text and ranged in size from tiny text figures to large folio plates. Various printmaking processes were employed that required the manual skills of artists, engravers, lithographers, colorists, etc. By the end of the century, photography and photo-mechanical processes had been developed that entirely eliminated the need for hand-worked printmaking methods in the production of utilitarian botanical illustrations. Included are 19th-century prints by George Cochran Lambdin, William Sharp, Isaac Sprague and Frederick A. Walpole.

The 20th century saw artists indulging in printmaking purely for art’s sake, and the flower and plant portrait provided a rewarding inspiration for many. Included are 20th-century prints by Elfriede Abbe, Henry Evans, Ralph Griswold, Vaino Kola, Warren Mack, Stanley Maltzman, Barry Moser, Joe Price and Richard Ziemann.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue included biographical data and a concise bibliography.

25 September 2003–29 February 2004
Healing Plants of Ida Hrubesky Pemberton
(catalogue)

The exhibition included 45 watercolors of medicinal plants painted between 1935 and 1942 for the artist’s planned book, "Drug Plants."

Ida Pemberton (1890–1951) studied botany and art at Doane College in Nebraska and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. She continued her art studies at the Art Institute of Chicago but did not graduate. In 1918 she married and later taught school for a short time in 1920. In 1924 the Pembertons moved to the Denver area. After the tragic death of her son, she found solace in the healing plants of her garden and began to paint. She completed 64 paintings and then designed a title page and endpapers. She visited publishers in Chicago and New York but was unable to find one for her book, "Drug Plants." However, the New York Botanical Garden was so impressed with her portfolio of drawings that they organized a one-person exhibition of Ida’s work in 1950.

Following her death in 1951, Ida’s paintings were sold to the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History in Boulder in 1955. The paintings were organized for a tour by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) and were displayed at numerous venues around the country from the 1950s to the 1970s. The artworks have not been seen for 21 years, and we are pleased to have them on loan from the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History for this exhibition.

We are delighted that at last the images intended for the book "Drug Plants" are published in a full-color, illustrated catalogue accompanying the exhibition. The catalogue includes a biographical essay by botanical artist and plant taxonomist Carolyn Crawford, a study of the artist’s technique by horticultural taxonomist and editor Victoria Matthews, and a catalogue of the 64 artworks in the Pemberton Collection of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History.

29 April–30 July 2004
Botanical Watercolors from the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland
(catalogue)

This selection of 43 watercolors and five red chalk drawings, spanning the 17th through 19th centuries, was loaned from the collection of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland, Leiden University branch, Leiden. It was the first time works from this collection were seen in North America. Among the artists represented were Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840), Abraham Munting (1626–1683), Laurens van der Vinne (1712–1742), Johan Christian Peter Arckenhausen (1784–1855), Carel Boschart Voet (1670–1743), and Nicolaas Meerburgh (1734–1814). Some of these paintings were made from specimens in the botanical garden developed at Leiden University in the early 1590s. They depict plants from Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, North America, and particularly South Africa. Except for some images published in modern facsimiles, only four of these paintings previously have been published. Nowadays the paintings are part of the Leiden University branch, which coordinates activities of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue accompanied the exhibition. The catalogue included two essays, one by Pieter Baas, director of the herbarium, and one by Erik de Jong, professor of Garden History and Landscape Studies and associate director at the Bard Graduate Center, New York.

24 October 2004–28 February 2005
11th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the International series, this show featured 94 artworks by 62 artists from 12 countries. The artists included Beverly Allen (Australia), Katharine Amies (England), Rupert C. Barneby (U.S.), Auriol Batten (South Africa), Tamlin Blake (South Africa), Renata Bonzo (Italy), Gilles Bosquet (France), Olivia Marie Braida-Chiusano (U.S.), Elizabeth Cadman (England), Celia Crampton (England), Patricia M. Eckel (U.S.), Amy Elizabeth Paluch Epton (U.S.), Flappy Lane Fox (England), Noriko Fujita (Japan), Takeyo Fukuda (Japan), Jarmila Haldová (Czech Republic), Sharon Hegner (U.S.), Yoko Hida (Japan), Emiko Horisawa (Japan), Caroline Cutrona Hottenstein (U.S.), Mayumi Ishii (Japan), Noboru Isogai (Japan), Donelda Choate LaBrake (U.S.), Olga Makrushenko (Russia), Jesse Markman (U.S.), Kimiyo Maruyama (Japan), Dianne McElwain (U.S.), Leo Meissner (U.S.), Giorgio Merlonghi (Italy), Sherry Mitchell (Canada), Adèle Rossetti Morosini (U.S.), Margaret Muffet (Australia), Elaine Musgrave (Australia), Yoko Nomura (Japan), Suzanne Olive (U.S.), Barbara Oozeerally (England), Jan van Os (The Netherlands), Anna Paoletto (Italy), Rita Parkinson (Australia), Annie Patterson (England), Rachel Pedder-Smith (England), Federico (Kiko) Perotti (Italy), Olivia Petrides (U.S.), Lynne K. Railsback (U.S.), Eve Reshetnik-Brawner (U.S.), Bill Richards (U.S.), Janet Rieck (U.S.), Koichi Saito (Japan), Lizzie Sanders (Scotland), Dolores R. Santoliquido (U.S.), Constance B. Sayas (U.S.), Gilly A. Shaeffer (U.S.), Toshi Shibusawa (U.S.), Maria Rita Stirpe (Italy), Bronwyn Van de Graaff (Australia), Jeannetta vanRaalte (U.S.), Marina Virdis (Italy), Monika E. de Vries Gohlke (U.S.), Anita Walsmit Sachs-Jansen (The Netherlands), Kathryn Wood (Canada), Jane Wright (England), and Kyoko Yamada (Japan).

The Institute established the International series in 1964 with the hope of supporting and encouraging contemporary botanical artists. Every three years, the International series attracts talented botanical artists from around the world. The works included in the 11th International prove that in the world of art the infinite variety of plant forms and colors still holds special fascination and offers undiminished challenge and delight.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue with biographical data, portraits of the artists, and reproductions of the artworks will accompany the exhibition. Collectively, the 11 International catalogues include 952 artists and are the most comprehensive record available of contemporary botanical artists and illustrators.

In conjunction with the opening of the International exhibition, the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) held its 10th annual conference in Pittsburgh (22–23 October). Many botanical artists from across the U.S. were in town to attend.

12 May 2005–31 July 2005
The Flowering Amazon: Margaret Mee Paintings from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
(catalogue)

For more than two centuries, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has recorded in watercolor the blooms, fruits, and foliage of new or rare plants from around the world. The Flowering Amazon was drawn from the rich collection of botanical illustrations preserved in the Kew Archives and featured the exquisite paintings of orchids, bromeliads, and other plants by the renowned British artist and explorer Margaret Mee (1909–1988). Praised by botanists and art critics alike, Mee’s works record the extraordinary beauty of Amazonia and include several now-extinct species. The Flowering Amazon featured thirty spectacular watercolor drawings and field sketches by Mee, as well as native Brazilian artifacts, plant models, and specimen sheets from the Kew Herbarium. Originally exhibited at Kew in a private showing for His Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, the exhibition began its two-year tour of the United States in spring 2004 at the New York Botanical Garden.

Published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, to accompany the exhibition touring the United States, the catalogue features 26 paintings by Margaret Mee made during her 15 trips to the Amazon. The catalogue includes a foreword by Professor Peter Crane, director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; an introduction by Ruth L. A. Stiff, curator of Kew's North American exhibitions; a brief history of Kew by Ray Desmond, its former chief librarian and archivist; biographical essays of Mee by Dr. Simon Mayo, senior botanist at Kew, and by Dr. Brinsley Burbridge, director of the St. Croix Botanical Garden; a description of Mee's legacy by Dr. Shirley Sherwood, renowned contemporary botanical art collector; a brief biography of British explorer and plant collector Richard Spruce, who inspired Mee; and a short bibliography. Copies can be purchased from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, at their Web site (http://www.kewbooks.com/).

11 September to 22 December 2005 at the Hunt Institute
1 March to 31 May 2006 at the National Agricultural Library
Inspiration and Translation: Botanical and Horticultural Lithographs of Joseph Prestele and Sons
(catalogue)

This exhibition was presented in collaboration with the National Agricultural Library (Beltsville, Maryland). Joseph Prestele (1796–1867) was a flower painter and a master of lithography, the technique of engraving on stone. Skilled in painting and botany, he produced work of aesthetic and scientific value. His three sons, Joseph Jr. (1824–1880s), Gottlieb (1827–1892) and William Henry (1838–1895), followed in his artistic, but not all in his religious, footsteps.

In 1843 Joseph Prestele and his family emigrated from Germany with the True Inspirationists (later the Amana Society). The Community of True Inspiration emphasized individual piety and humility within a brotherhood of believers. Prestele had joined the community in 1837, becoming a church elder. Settling with the Inspirationists in Ebenezer, New York, Prestele was assigned the task of tending the orchard for the community. At this time, Joseph Jr. returned to New York City, the first of the sons to leave the community. In 1845 Prestele was given permission to pursue botanical art, and in the following year he purchased a printing press. With his sons Gottlieb and William Henry, Prestele began producing scientific and horticultural watercolors and translating the drawings of Isaac Sprague (1811–1895) onto stone for publications by eminent botanists Asa Gray (1810–1888) and John Torrey (1796–1873) and by the Smithsonian Institution and for expedition reports by the United States government.

However, the Inspirationists were soon on the move again as the community outgrew Ebenezer and the outside world encroached. In 1858 a 62-year-old Prestele once again put aside his art to follow his community to Amana, Iowa. His son William Henry did not follow, but moved to New York where he did some work for his father and eventually enlisted in the Civil War. In 1867 he worked for the F. K. Phoenix Nursery in Indiana, joined three years later by Joseph Jr. William Henry went into business for himself until he was offered a position as artist in 1887 in the Pomological Division of the United States Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Dutiful Gottlieb did follow his father. Together they continued to produce engravings of fruits and flowers for nurserymen since they had limited access to eastern botanists. After Joseph’s death, Gottlieb continued their work for another eight years until it was no longer in demand.

The exhibition included original watercolors, lithographic prints (including nurseryman plates), account books and other ephemera from the local collection of Marcelee Konish (a descendant of the Prestele family), William Henry’s pomological watercolors from the National Agricultural Library, artworks and books from the Hunt Institute collection, a lithographic stone from the Smithsonian Institution, and a lithographic print of the Inspirationists’ journey to America from the Amana Heritage Society.

An 84-page catalogue with 75 color and 2 black and white images is available at the Institute and the National Agricultural Library. The catalogue includes essays by James J. White, Curator of Art, and Gavin D. R. Bridson, Bibliographer, Hunt Institute; Peter R. Young, Director, and Susan H. Fugate, Head of Special Collections, National Agricultural Library, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland; Marcelee Konish, a descendant of Joseph Prestele; Lanny R. Haldy, Executive Director, Amana Heritage Society; and Adrian Higgins, Garden Editor, Washington Post. Assistant Curator of Art Lugene Bruno wrote additional text and designed the catalogue. Graphics Manager Frank A. Reynolds did the reproduction photography with a Nikon D1X digital camera.

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) is one of the world’s largest and most accessible agricultural libraries and plays a vital role in supporting research, education, and applied agriculture. As part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), NAL’s mission is to collect, preserve, and advance access to agricultural information. Its collections of more than four million items and its leadership role in technology applications combine to make NAL a world leader in agricultural information services.

Special Collections of the National Agricultural Library houses a wealth of materials relating to all aspects of agricultural history, discovery, and advancement. Special Collections is charged with the collecting, preserving, and providing access to unique materials significant to the history of agriculture and the USDA. The combination of rare books, manuscript collections, nursery and seed trade catalogs, original works of art, and photographic collections makes Special Collections a premiere center for historical research.

To expand its reach, NAL is building an electronic repository of USDA materials accessible through the NAL Web site.

23 March to 30 June 2006
Yuuga: Contemporary Botanical Watercolors from Japan
(catalogue, out-of-print)

Yuuga means elegant and gorgeous and aptly describes these contemporary botanical paintings. The exhibition included 43 works—the majority of them donated—by 33 artists. The artists represented in the exhibition included Junzo Fujishima, Rei Fukuzawa, Tadako Hayashi, Mieko Ishikawa, Michiko Ishiyama, Yoko Kakuta, Yumi Kamataki, Yoshiko Kamei, Seiko Kijima, Sanae Kikuchi, Yuriko Kikuchi, Hidenari Kobayashi, Mariko Kojima, Mieko Konishi, Makiko Makihara, Naomi Morino, Sadao Naito, Yoko Nomura, Yoai Ohta, Takeko Sagara, Masao Saito, Masako Sasaki, Toshi Shibusawa, Akiko Shimizu, Fumiko Sugizaki, Kiyohiko Sugizaki, Kazuko Tajikawa, Kazuto Takahashi, Miyako Takahashi, Kiyoko Tanaka, Yoko Uchijo, Keita Yonezu and Keiko Yoshida.

Flowers have always played an important role in Japanese culture. Indeed, botanical art classes now are offered in cultural centers throughout Japan. In recent years The Japan Association of Botanical Illustration has encouraged artists, produced exhibitions with catalogues, and issued a journal. JABI has stimulated additional exhibitions and books, even bringing exhibitions to Japan from abroad. As a result, Japan easily ranks in the top half dozen countries to actively promote the genre of botanical art. Since mounting the exhibition Talking in Flowers: Japanese Botanical Art in 1982, the Hunt Institute has been interested in the subject. We are delighted to take this opportunity to display our growing collection of Japanese botanical art.

We are unaware of any other exhibition catalogue produced in the United States on this subject, and we are very pleased to have been able to produce a fully illustrated exhibition catalogue, which was made possible through the generous support of numerous donors. The catalogue includes a preface by James J. White, curator of art at the Hunt Institute, and the essay “Contemporary botanical art in Japan and its historical background” by Kazunori Kurokawa, honorary curator of Hunt Institute and honorary director of the American Society of Botanical Artists as well as an important figure in JABI. Assistant Curator of Art Lugene Bruno designed the catalogue and compiled the biographical information about the artists. Graphics Manager Frank A. Reynolds did the reproduction photography with a Nikon D1X digital camera.

In conjunction with the exhibition at Hunt Institute, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens displayed Fuuryu: Japanese Botanical Watercolors from the School of Yoshiko Kamei in its new rotunda gallery from 1 March to 30 June 2006. The exhibition included 24 artworks by Ms. Yoshiko Kamei and her students based on the plants represented in their traditional family emblems, which are passed from generation to generation. In the emblem the plant image is reduced to its essence and used on kimonos and decorative items.

14 September to 20 December 2006
What We Collect: Recent Art Acquisitions

The Hunt Institute continues to acquire watercolors, drawings and prints for our collection of over 30,000 artworks depicting plants on paper and vellum. This selection of 80 recently acquired artworks, ranging from the 17th century through the present, provided an overview of what we collect in the Hunt Institute Art Department. Many of these were scientific drawings of plants showing details and cross-sections; some were horticultural watercolors and prints of flowers, fruits and vegetables; and others depicted landscapes or plants in their habitats. These artworks have been used to illustrate floras, monographs, scientific or horticultural journals, or have been prepared for exhibitions. Some of these artists have depicted cultivated, native and endangered plants while others have shown the relationship between plants and their pollinators. There was a selection of intriguing images of slime molds and seaweed that resembled otherworldly plants. Whether working alongside botanists or preparing artworks for collectors, galleries or commercial use, artists throughout the centuries have added their own special perspective to portraying plants.

These artworks came to us via many channels, but chiefly—and fortunately for us—as gifts. Some donations included every illustration for a specific publication while others included additional artworks from artists who have participated in our triennial International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration. Sometimes we were given or bequeathed works from earlier centuries or given funds to add to our limited acquisitions budget. This exhibition included a selection of botanical artworks that we had acquired in recent years but had not had an opportunity to share with the public. Please join us in discovering these important contributions to the record of our natural world.

The artists working before 1900 included Basil Besler (1561–1629); Sydenham Edwards (1769?–1819), Will Kilburn (1745–1818), and James Sowerby (1757–1822); Alice Blanche Ellis and Edith Elizabeth Bull (dates unknown); Giorgio Liberale (ca. mid-16th century) and Wolfgang Meyerpeck (dates unknown); Joseph Prestele (1796–1867); Wilhelm Heinrich (William Henry) Prestele (1838–1895); Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759–1840); Isaac Sprague (1811–1895); and Pierre Jean François Turpin (1775–1840). The contemporary artists featured included Beverly Allen, Dorothy Osdieck (Mrs. Paul) Allen, Olive Anderson, Gary Alan Bukovnik, Elizabeth Cadman, Richard Carroll, Celia Crampton, Sally Crosthwaite, Etienne Demonte, Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden, Patricia M. Eckel, Jean L. Emmons, Diana Everett, Stephen Fisher, Stephen A. Fredericks, (Mrs.) R. E. Gamble, Janice Glimn-Lacy, Job Kuijt, Stanley Maltzman, Jesse Markman, Suzanne Olive, Dorothy Kate Hughes Popenoe (attr. to), Jaggu Prasad, Wilfred A. Readio, Ann Robertson, Judith Scheidig, Harry Schwalb, Suresh Chand Sharma, Yvonne Skargon, Catherine J. Hanforth Steiner, Henry Stempen, Maria Rita Stirpe, Kazuto Takahashi, Alice Ruth Tangerini, Bronwyn Van de Graaff, Monika E. de Vries Gohlke, Anita Walsmit Sachs, and Carol Woodin.

22 March–29 June 2007
Virtues and Pleasures of Herbs through History: Physic, Flavor, Fragrance and Dye

Through history the virtues and pleasures of herbs have enhanced our daily lives and connected us to the natural world through all of our senses. Although botanists consider an herb to be a small seed-bearing, non-woody plant that dies back to the ground, for this exhibition we are using the broader horticultural description of any plant that is useful for many purposes. From the countless cultivated or wild herbs with overlapping applications, we have chosen a selection within the four categories of physic, flavor, fragrance and dye. Each topic provides highlights of the usage of five herbs at specific points in history. For physic—comfrey, ginger, mint, sage, and thyme—we will discuss herbs that were considered a panacea for health in ancient medicinal texts, those that continue to be used for their therapeutic properties as in earlier times, and those with components that are considered medicinally promising or now deemed toxic. For flavor—basil, coriander, fennel, garlic, and marjoram/oregano—we will discuss herbs now used to enhance our culinary pursuits that were once only used symbolically, were reviled for their pungency, or were introduced from other cultures. For fragrance—lavender, monarda, rosemary, scented geraniums, and southernwood—we will discuss herbs that were used for the first perfumes, as protectors from the plague, and as substitutes for imported teas following the Boston Tea Party. For dye—bloodroot, madder, saffron, tansy, and woad—we will discuss familiar European herbs that were cultivated in colonists’ kitchen gardens for everyday use in the New World and unfamiliar herbs about which they learned from Native Americans, those that were part of the powerful Italian dye and woolen guild systems, and those that strongly affected economies and trade. All twenty herbs are illustrated by original watercolors and prints, rare books, or manuscript pages from the Hunt Institute’s Art, Library, and Archives collections.

Ancient medicinal traditions of China, India, Egypt, and Greece held that herbs contained virtuous properties that could alleviate any health imbalance. Herbs were used not only for medicinal purposes but also to flavor and preserve food, to scent and protect household environments, and to dye or stain the skin and textiles. Records of superstitions and more provable usage in manuscript form were copied or translated into various languages and transmitted to many cultures. With the invention of moveable type in the mid-15th century, information became more readily available. Even though the copying of earlier texts persisted, the 15th and 16th centuries brought new ideas about the use of herbs. They were cultivated in monastery and physic gardens for use and study, and later apothecaries became dispensaries of simples (or combinations of herbs) to treat particular ailments. Through voyages of exploration and the establishment of trade routes, exotic herbs and spices became available throughout many parts of the world, and luxuries were no longer restricted to royalty or the wealthiest classes. Kitchen gardens provided households with the herbs necessary for everyday needs. Herbs began to be acknowledged for their nonessential and pleasurable uses as early as the 13th century and proliferated in the 16th century. Pleasure gardens were established for their beauty—emphasizing color, scent and texture—and elaborately designed knot gardens and labyrinths became popular public attractions. Herbs were used for perfumes and nosegays and as symbols in poetry and prose. Interest in the use of herbs has waxed and waned in modern times, but in recent decades there is recognition of the importance of the role these plants play in all aspects of our lives. As the naturalist Henry Beston aptly noted in his 1935 Herbs and the Earth, “A garden of herbs gives more months of garden pleasure and more kinds of pleasure than any other. Its interest is independent of flowers, its fragrances are taken from the first leaf to the last, its uses make it a part of the amenities of the whole year, and its history and traditions touch all nations and all times.”

30 September–20 December 2007
12th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration
(catalogue)

This show featured 111 artworks by 64 artists from 14 countries (Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Italy, Japan, Scotland, South Africa, Sweden, the United States, and Wales).

The artists included Fusako E. Abe (Japan), Milly Acharya (U.S.), Deirdre Bean (Australia), Margaret Best (Canada), Elisabeth de Boor (U.S.), Bev Byrnes (U.S.), Carolyn Cappello (U.S.), Kang Chung (U.S.), André Demonte (Brazil), Rodrigo Demonte (Brazil), Josephine Eyston Elwes (England), Alison Gianangeli (Australia), John Gist (U.S.), Sarah Gould (England), Norma Gregory (England), David Hackman (England), Trevor Haddrell (England), Carol Hartley (Belgium), Mayumi Hashi (England), Celia Hegedüs (England), Caroline Holley (England), Karen Johnson (U.S.), Doreen Jones (Wales), Lauretta Jones (U.S.), Yoshiko Kamei (Japan), Ruriko Kato (Japan), Libby Kyer (U.S.), Fiona McGlynn (Australia), Hiroko Mima (Japan), Norio Mizukami (Japan), Naomi Morino (Italy), Patricia Newman (France), Catharine Nicholson (England), Mariko Nishimoto (Japan), Keiko Noma (Japan), Leonie Norton (Australia), Tomoko Ogawa (Japan), Susan Ogilvy (England), Hillary Landemare Parker (U.S.), John Pastoriza-Piñol (Australia), Howard Phipps (England), Kelly Leahy Radding (U.S.), Dick Rauh (U.S.), Silvana Rava (Italy), Margaret Saul (U.S.), Sue Scullard (England), Elaine Searle (England), Shirley Slocock (England), Halina Steele (Australia), Eva Stockhaus (Sweden), Peta Stockton (England), Dianne Sutherland (Scotland), Sandy Ross Sykes (China), Harue Takumi (Japan), Vicki Thomas (South Africa), Eriko Miki Tosaki (Japan), Julia Trickey (England), Sarah van Niekerk (England), Geri Waddington (England), Noriko Watanabe (Japan), Carol Weld (U.S.), Hazel West-Sherring (England), Heidi Willis (Australia), and Etsuko Yamane (Japan).

The Institute established the International series in 1964 with the hope of supporting and encouraging contemporary botanical artists. Every three years, the International series features the works of talented botanical artists from around the world. The works included in the 12th International prove that in the world of art the infinite variety of plant forms and colors still holds special fascination and offers undiminished challenge and delight.

A full-color, illustrated catalogue with biographical data, portraits of the artists, and reproductions of the artworks will accompany the exhibition. Collectively, the 12 International catalogues include 1,016 artists and are the most comprehensive record available of contemporary botanical artists and illustrators.

In conjunction with the opening of the International exhibition, the American Society of Botanical Artists (ASBA) held its 13th Annual Meeting and Conference in Pittsburgh (27–29 September). Many botanical artists from across the U.S. were in town to attend.

Graphics Manager Frank Reynolds took a number of photos at the 12th International preview reception on 27 September 2007.