Product Description

*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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #279325 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 200 pages

About the Author
Stephen Harris, Ph.D., is a military historian with the Department of National Defence Directorate of History and Heritage.

Customer Reviews

A Not-so-New Flowering
Being a big fan of Shirley Sherwood's previous publications Contemporary Botanical Artists (1996) and A Passion for Plants (2001), I have been eagerly awaiting any further publications from this collector. I immediately purchased A New Flowering - 1000 years of Botanical Art when it was released in late 2005, but unfortunately I was quite disappointed. Rather than a whole new collection of wondrous botanical art, A New Flowering is principally an exhibition catalogue emanating from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, in mid 2005 containing many works seen in the previously mentioned books.

The title is somewhat of a misnomer. This is not a history of botanical art. There is one reference and illustration of a herbal dating from 1080 - 1090. From there the text jumps to around the mid 1400s. From there we have chapters covering the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as well as chapters dealing with Ehret, Jacquin, the Bauer brothers, Redoute, and Ruskin. There are examples of the works of these historical figures interspersed with comparable examples of similar plants by contemporary artists.

Unfortunately, of the 107 contemporary illustrations, 72 have already appeared in either Contemporary Botanical Artists (38) or A Passion for Plants (34). Those seeking a new collection of modern botanical works may well be disappointed. There are approximately 60 historical examples, but readers already familiar with Wilfred Blunt's The Art of Botanical Illustration or similar works will find nothing new here.

There is a short chapter dealing with the scientific aspects of botanical illustration, and another with a broad description of the various techniques used, but neither are covered in any depth.

For those who do not own either of Shirley Sherwood's previous publications, A New Flowering would be a pleasant addition to their botanical illustration library, but I would not recommend it to anyone looking for new inspirational material.

Interesting comparison/presentation of historical perspective and contemporary work
*If you're a painter trying to pick up techniques*, "Contemporary Botanical Artists" would be better because 1) the reproductions are larger (better for seeing small details) and 2) most of the art is from the mid-1990s, so the format might be closer to what you'd be producing (for example, a watercolor instead of an illuminated manuscript), and 3) the reproductions are somehow a little higher quality, to my eye. "Contemporary" is organized alphabetically by artists' last name, which is handy if you like to see one person's style applied to several works, shown next to each other. Also, because most of the paintings were done within the past 12-15 years (vs. 200-1000 years ago) the supports and paints are similar to what's available now.

*If you're a painter and considering different styles of presentation*, the concept of "1000 Years" might be more useful. "1000 Years" presents paintings in pairs or groups, for example, contrasting a fritillaria 'sketch' from Ruskin with a watercolor painting from 10 years ago. The book also includes such different formats as an oil painting on glass, or panels, or illuminated manuscripts. So, if you know _how_ to paint what you want but are looking for ideas on themes or surfaces or styling, "1000 Years" would be more useful.

If you have one volume and are considering getting another, keep in mind that several illustrations are in both books, and some of the commentary is also understandably similar. (I wasn't sure what to expect in that regard...) Both are very nice books and, if you know what to expect, worth having.

On the subject of watercolor technique, I would also recommend "Painting Flowers in Watercolour: A Naturalistic Approach" (C. Guest), more so than "Botanical Illustration in Watercolor" (E. Wunderlich), if you aspire to the illustrations in either Sherwood book but feel stuck at a "reasonable but not stunning" level. In my opinion, Guest's book expects you to be an intermediate or advanced watercolorist who wants to paint flowers, not a beginner painter. The life-size illustrations are also more useful. Btw, C. Guest's work in included in "Contemporary", and S. Sherwood supplied a foreword for Guest's book.

Best Book on Botanical art history
Shirley Sherwood and her editors have published a magnificent book on botanical art history. The narrative is well written, the art is outstanding. One walks away from reading ths book a better person.

It is a better book than Sherwood's "Contemporary Botanical Masters" hard cover -- which has some wonderful art by contemporary botanic artists, but was printed cheaply, with many pages of compelling artwork by the best watercolorists looking fuzzy.

Never the less, Sherwood has taken time to organize the best collection of botanical art I have seen. She has done us all a public service by promoting great artists like Jean Emmons, Kate Nessler, Carol Woodin here in the US (just a few of many artists from around the world) and educating this reader of botanical art's history, too.

Ms. Sherwood was on the Board of the Kew Botanic Gardens -- may still be. She is part of the aristocracy of elite wealth -- most of whom are hoarders and greedy. But she has given the world a gift that no money can buy in editing and publishing this book on 1000 Years of Botanical Art.