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Library & Archives

5 Posts tagged with the zoological_illustration tag

Images of Nature Gallery: Women artists - another new selection of artworks

Posted by Andrea Hart Dec 10, 2014

We are pleased to announce that the Library and Archives team recently installed the 3rd rotation of natural history artworks into the Images of Nature Gallery. This new rotation features the wonderful artworks of a further eighteen women artists whose artworks are represented in the Musuem's collections.

The featured artists in this penultimate rotation are :

Norma Gregory (b.1942) - Bergenia cordifolia, elephant-eared saxifrage

Elizabeth Cameron (1915-2008) - Rhododendron eclecteum, Rhododendron

Jean Webb (b.1943) - Piseum sativum, pea 'Commander'

Angela Gladwell (b.1945) - Strigops habroptilus, kakapo or owl parrot

Claire Dalby (b.1944) - Caloplaca verruculifera and Lecanora poliophaea, lichen

Barbara Nicholson (1906-1978) - Meadow flowers

Beatrice Corfe (1866-1947) - Juniperus communis, Juniper ; Quercus robur, English oak ; Sorbus torminalis, Wild service orange tree ; Castenea sativa, sweet chestnut

Augusta Withers (c.1791/2-1876) - Cone of Encephalartos longifolius

Mary Grierson (1912-2012) - Orobanche crenata Forsk.

Guilelma Lister (1860-1949) - Trichia affinis, slime mould

Mary Eaton (1873-1961) - Phallus impudicus, veiled stickhorn

Sarah Stone (c.1760-1844) - Goura cristata, western crowned-pigeon ; Rupicola rupicola, Guianan Cock-of-the-rock

Harriet Moseley (fl.1836-1867) - Rubus macrophyllus, large leaved bramble ; Iris foetidissima, stinking iris

Janet Dwek (b.1944) - Bellis perennis L., common daisy ; Rosa canina L., dog rose

Lilian Medland (1880-1955) - Parotia lawessi, Bird of paradise

E. Getrude Norrie (fl.1900s) - Parribacus antarcticus, slipper lobster ; Anampses cuvier, pearl wrasse

Joan Procter (d.1953) - watercolour drawings of frogs and toads

Olive Tassart (d.1953) - Spodoptera litura

Lilian Medland	Mary Grierson	E. Gertrude Norrie	Guilelma Lister

For more highlights of the gallery please see here.

The artworks will remain on display in the Images of Nature Gallery until the end of February 2015.

Entry to the Gallery is free.

For more information on the Women Artists in our collections, the book Women Artists features examples of the artworks of over 100 women artists held by the Library and explores their various influences and motivations in the creation of some of the most visually stunning natural history illustrations of the past four centuries.

2955 Views 0 Comments Permalink Categories: Library and Archives Tags: images_of_nature_gallery, botanical_illustration, library_item_of_the_month, zoological_illustration, women_artists

Images of Nature Gallery - a new selection of Women Artists artwork

Posted by Andrea Hart Jun 30, 2014

Following hot on the heels of the first rotation of some of the most striking natural history artworks by women artists that we hold in the Library and Archives collections, we have just installed a fresh rotation of artworks in the Images of Nature Gallery, including the wonderfully vibrant mango illustration by Malcy C. Moon (1803-1880).

Other artists featured in this new rotation include some of the best contemporary natural history illustrators including Elizabeth Butterworth, Jenny Brasier, Jessica Tcherepnine and Olga Makrushenko. Their individual use of colour, technique and artistic skill in acheiving both scientific accuracy and extraordinary beauty in their subjects is inspirational, and we are delighted to hold examples of their work in our collections.

The rotation also features the skilled graphite illlustrations of Sarah Ormerod (1784-1860) that sit alongside her daugher Georgiana Ormerod's (1823-1896) bold illustrations of the Rocky Mountain Locust and Southern hawker dragonfly. From the eighteenth century is Gertrude Metz's (1746-1793) watercolour of an Orange sherbet and we once again feature two birds from our Sarah Stone (c.1760-1844) collection - a tawny owl with young, and a Northern cardinal.

From the nineteenth century we have two watercolours by the relatively unknown Ellen Hawkins (fl.1821-1868). Her delicate but scientifically accurate and informative illustrations of a musk thistle and an aspen are accompanied by her manuscript notes and observations of these plants, written in iron gall ink. The equally wonderful botanical watercolours of Elizabeth Twining (1805-1889) and Laura Burrard (d.1880), the comprehensive and beautifully composed study of Barbara Nicholson's (1906-1978) Heathland plants and Margaret Cockburn's (1829-1928) intricately detailed birds eggs complete the diverse selection in this rotation.

The artworks will remain on display in the Images of Nature Gallery until the end of October 2014.

Entry to the Gallery is free.

For more information on the Women Artists in our collections, the book Women Artists features examples of the artworks of over 100 women artists held by the Library and explores their various influences and motivations in the creation of some of the most visually stunning natural history illustrations of the past four centuries.

2836 Views 0 Comments Permalink Tags: botanical_illustrations, zoological_illustration, library_&_archives, women_artists, images_nature_gallery

Images of Nature Gallery new theme : Women Artists

Posted by Andrea Hart Mar 5, 2014

Another year and another new theme and chance for the Library & Archives to show off and celebrate our wonderful artwork collections! Throughout the centuries women have made significant contributions to natural history art - all of whom shared a fascination and enthusiasm for the natural world. Drawn for a variety of reasons and using a rich mix of artistic techniques, the new theme of Women Artists presents another captivating cross-section of the artwork collections at the Natural History Museum.

Over the next 16 months, the specially designated cabinets in the Images of Nature Gallery will showcase the artworks of some of the best women natural history artists spanning the last four centuries. The work of over 60 different women artists, many on public display for the first time, will feature illustrations ranging from the delightful Tawny owls by Sarah Stone (ca. 1760-1844) through to the colourful Hawaiian fishes of E. Gertrude Norrie (active 1900s) and contemporary botanical artists such as Norma Gregory and Olga Makrushenko.

The new theme also sees the publication of the fourth book in the Images of Nature series. Titled Women Artists, it features the artwork from over 100 women artists in the Library & Archives collections.

The exhibition opens on Saturday 8th March which also happens to be International Womens Day - a day which is celebrated in many different ways to recognise the achievements of women but also to raise awareness of the many social, economic, political situations worldwide affecting women.

Public access to the Gallery is free.

1924 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: images_of_nature_gallery, botanical_illustration, zoological_illustration, library_&_archives, women_and_science, women_artists

The Library welcomes its first Synthesys researcher

Posted by Hellen Pethers - Library and Archives Jun 17, 2013

Last week we welcomed Ana-Maria Costa, the Library & Archive's first Synthesys funded researcher. She is with us for three weeks.

Ana-Maria is here as part of her PhD with the University of Lisbon, entitled 'The Natural History in Art and the Art in Natural History 1770-1810'.

During her stay she will be using the Botanical and Zoological artwork collections from the Library and in particular those relating to:

Captain James Cook's two voyages

First Fleet

William Bartram

In particular the goal of her PhD is to compare and contrast the 'cultural' skills of Portuguese artists with those of other European artists during the period 1770-1810.

When studying the collections, she is looking at a number of different levels:

Artistic - not only interested in the colours used, but form, line and composition. Also what the artist puts behind, whether the perspectives are correct and their use of light and shadow to create a 3D effect.

Scientific/taxonomic - has the species been identified and if so correctly.

Geographic - she is recording the geographical information of the specimen depicted in order to later plot these on a map.

Ana-Maria is in her third year of four and has already researched the art collections at the Libraries of the Natural History Museum and Botanical Gardens, Lisbon, National Museum, Lisbon and Botanical Gardens, Madrid.

By the end of her research here Ana-Maria is looking to have identified approximately 40 pieces of artwork to use for her PhD, in addition to those selected from the other institutions.

1273 Views 0 Comments 0 References Permalink Tags: botanical_illustration, zoological_illustration, behind_the_scenes_in_the_library, synthesys

All change!

Posted by Andrea Hart Apr 12, 2011

As the new Images of Nature, art gallery has been open for 3 months now, it was time to install the second rotation of drawings from our Reeves collection of Chinese botanical and zoological drawings. It all went very smoothly and all of the illustrations and their description panels were in place with some time to spare before the Museum opened its doors to the Easter holiday crowds.

Below is a small selection of the new drawings that are now on display and are freely available to view. We hope you like them!