Images of Botany: Celebrating the Contribution of Women to the History of Botanical Illustration

Abstract

The superb botanical illustration collection of Amgueddfa Cymru– National Museum Wales in Cardiff, Wales, has developed through bequests, donations, and selective purchases. Numbering more than 7,000 works, 15% of these are by women, including the work of well-known Victorian artists and leading contemporary artists such as Gillian Griffiths, Pauline Dean, and Dale Evans. In particular, the Cymmrodorion Collection is the most prestigious collection, containing illustrations dating from the 18th century and featuring works by Elizabeth Blackwell, Jane Loudon, and Sarah Drake. Using this and other collections from the museum, this article examines the contribution that women artists have made to the field of botanical illustration by referring to the lives of these women and considering their motives, whether they pursued botanical illustration out of financial necessity, out of scientific curiosity, or to allay boredom. The article further examines the social restrictions and prejudice that many of these women had to overcome.