The Art of Plant Evolution (Paperback edition)
Authors: W. John Kress, Shirley Sherwood. 320pp. 292 x 225mm. Paperback, ISBN 9781842464175, Kew Publishing 2009.
Art meets science' in this beautiful book that aims to give readers a sense of some contemporary scientific discoveries that are changing our understanding of plant relationships. 136 botanical paintings from the Shirley Sherwood Collection, by 84 artists, cover 50 orders of plants in 118 families, and a total of 133 species, providing a sweeping overview of the evolution of plants on earth.
The paintings display a sampling of the plant world from fungi to daisies, including algae, mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants arranged in the most up to date evolutionary sequence, determined by recent DNA analysis. The text places each artist's observations as displayed in the paintings, in the context of modern plant classification, providing readers with a new understanding of the complex interrelationships between plant species, and enhancing their appreciation of the botanical artist's ability to portray the delicate beauty of nature.
The Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries Annual Awards: Nominated titles: Technical category 2010
Media reviews:
The Art of Plant Evolution showcases the extensive collection of plant paintings amassed by Sherwood and now displayed in rotation in the magnificent new Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The quality and quantity of the paintings take one's breath away...Sandra Knapp, American Scientist, November-December 2010
Dr W. John Kress is Curator and Research Scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. He studied at both Harvard and Duke Universities and his research interests include the systematic biology of Heliconia and other Zingiberales
Dr Shirley Sherwood travels extensively and has been collecting contemporary botanical drawings since 1990. Her comprehensive collection includes work by artists living in thirty different countries and documents the emergence of a new wave of botanical painters and the renaissance of their art form and is arguably the most important private collection of twentieth century botanical art in the world.
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew Gardens, which opened in spring 2008, is the first public gallery in the world dedicated to botanical art. The gallery, designed by leading architects Walters and Cohen, will exhibit precious works of art from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Dr Shirley Sherwood, many of which have never been on public display.
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew holds one of the world’s greatest collections of botanical art, totalling over 200,000 items. Dr Shirley Sherwood holds one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of contemporary botanical drawings from over 200 artists. The gallery adjoins the Marianne North Gallery, a display of Victorian botanical and landscape paintings.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
In 1759 Princess Augusta, mother of King George III, started an ambitious nine-acre physic garden around Kew Palace. Every generation has added to the charms and curiosities of Kew, now a major international visitor attraction. Together the landscaped, 132 hectares of Kew Gardens and RBG Kew’s country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. Kew Gardens is a UNESCO-inscribed World Heritage Site and houses over 40 listed buildings and other structures including the Palm House, Temperate House, Orangery and Pagoda as well as two ancient monuments, Queen Charlotte's Cottage and Kew Palace. RBG Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. For further information please visit www.kew.org.
Wakehurst Place is also home to Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. By 2010, RBG Kew and its partners will have collected and conserved seed from 10 per cent of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species). The aim is to conserve 25% by 2020 and funds are being actively sought in order to continue to develop this vital work. For further information please visit www.kew.org/msbp.
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