" "Women of Flowers,"... a traveling exhibition on 19th-century female botanical artists... currently at the Naples Botanical Garden.
... The exhibition opened at the Chicago Botanical Garden in March of 1998 and drew... 30,000 visitors in its first week... it has traveled to 10 other venues... Naples is its final venue. ... Few female botanical illustrators had the privilege of traveling on the expeditions, outside of researcher-illustrator Maria Sibylla Merian. Detailed botanical illustrations were made from notes and sketches created by male artists on the collecting expeditions, and from pressed, dried specimens or visits to local conservatories. ... Many botanical books by women were published anonymously or signed simply "By a Lady." Not even the exact first names... S. A. Drake illustrated some of the most famous orchid books ever published, including Bateman's 38-pound "Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala," producing more than 1,500 fine illustrations over a 17-year period. But apart from her name, all that is known of her life is the place in London where she lived and the names of the botanists who employed her. Another contributor to Bateman's tome was Augusta Withers... He[Jack Kramer]'s currently putting together an exhibition of botanical illustrations of orchids... The Smithsonian Institution wants it for 2009. ... At the end of the show, the prints will be sold, with 40 percent of the profit going to the Naples Botanical Garden.... ... Where: Naples Botanical Garden... Through Jan. 31, 2007" article URL : http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2006/nov/25/genius_denied/ ************ Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
