Treasures of Botanical Art

Authors: Shirley Sherwood, Martyn Rix. 276pp. 246 x 189 mm. Over 200 botanical patinings. Hardback ISBN 9781842466636, Kew Publishing 2019.

Treasures of Botanical Art reveals the history of botanical painting, its beauty and science, with works from two renowned collections and over one hundred significant artists, dating from the late 1400s through to today. Paintings featured from the Kew collection include works by well-known artists the Bauer brothers, Redouté, Ehret, Fitch, Lilian Snelling and Margaret Mee as well as many lesser known artists. Contemporary works are featured from the Sherwood collection by a host of international artists.  

Over 200 stunning botanical paintings are showcased in this gift book, accompanied with informative text on the origins, history and relevance of botanical art, as well as information on the plants themselves. Biographies of over 120 artists are provided at the end of the book, revealing the historical and international background of this genre.   

- New format and gift edition of the bestselling book

- Showcases some of the best botanical art from the collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Shirley Sherwood

- Informative essays provide an overview of the origins, history and relevance of botanical illustration with special reference to the Kew and Shirley Sherwood collections

- Extensively illustrated, with over 200 illustrations arranged into thematic sections

- Annotated captions, with artists details, dimensions of the paintings, medium and material, and the nature of the plant shown

- Includes biographies of artists, selected bibliography and indexes to plants and artists

- Works as a stand alone book on the history of botanical art

Media reviews:

The best gardening reads of 2019 - Daily Mail

This book is a pure joy to read, browse through and wonder at. It is informative and an excellent record of some of the world’s most outstanding botanical art. The Reckless Gardener

Praise for the first edition:

Two of the best botanical minds come together in this beautifully illustrated book...the illustrations, from the Kew Collection, are breath-taking and the text wonderfully informative. Oxford Times

This book is a tribute both to Shirley Sherwood and to Kew, and should be bought by everyone with an interest in botanical illustration. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine

Martyn Rix is a renowned horticulturalist, and author of many books including The Golden Age of Botanical Art (Andre Deutsch) and co-author of Flora Japonica (Kew Publishing, 2016) and Treasured Trees (Kew Publishing, 2015), and editor of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, published by Kew. In 2002 he was awarded the Gold Veitch Memorial Medal by the RHS for his services to horticulture, and in 2008 a Tercentary bronze medal from the Linnean Society.

Dr Shirley Sherwood travels extensively and since 1990 has built one of the most important private contemporary botanical art collections in the world, comprising 1,000 works by 298 artists from 35 countries. Her comprehensive collection includes work by artists living in over thirty different countries and is arguably the most important private collection of twentieth century botanical art in the world. She was awarded a Veitch Memorial Medal by the RHS in 2004 and in 2012 received an OBE for services to botanical art. The Shirley Sherwood Gallery at Kew is the first public gallery in the world dedicated to botanical art.