This page provides an overview of Mary Anderson Grierson VMH, VM, GM (1912 - 2012)
whose career in botanical art proves it's never too late to start
whose career in botanical art proves it's never too late to start
About Mary Grierson - a summary
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Mary Grierson illustrated plants for Kew Gardens and produced numerous illustrations and paintings for Curtis's Botanical Magazine. She was also awarded three gold medals for artwork exhibited in Royal Horticultural Society shows and was a Fellow of the Linnean Society.
It's worth noting that most of Mary Grierson's achievements in botanical art came after the age of 60 - and she only took up botanical art age 48! (see my first summary of her life in In praise of the older artist - Mary Anderson Grierson) It covers:
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"An English Florilegium" with paintings by Mary Grierson
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Biography timeline - education and employment (1912-2012)
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Early Years (2012 - 1939)
Childhood: She was born on the 27 September 1912 at Bodfaen, Craig Y Don Road, Bangor, Caernarvonshire Mary was the youngest of three children of Scottish parents. who hailed from Dumfries. Her father George Rae Grierson (1872-1935) owned a laundry. His mother was called Anna, née Shortridge (1876-1945). Education and training: Mary was educated in the town at Bangor County School. She had a talent for drawing and enjoyed Art and Botany but had no interest in higher education. 1931 - taught English to a family in Germany 1932 - at her mother's insistence, she studied domestic science at Battersea Polytechnic. She returned home to care for her parents and worked briefly as a confectioner in Llandudno. After her father's death, she and her mother moved to Dumfries, where she managed a local restaurant. |
Bodfaen, Craig Y Don Road, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2BG
She spent most of her school years exploring the mountains and can't remember a time when she wasn't painting or drawing plants |
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The War Years and after (1939-1959)
1940-45 - During World War II, she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (the W.A.A.F.). She was trained and then worked as an interpreter for the Photographic Renaissance Unit. IWM photographs - as an an aerial photography interpreter. This would have involved a lot of use of all available means of magnification. When she was demobbed, she was in charge of photographs in the public relations department of De Havilland. Next she worked for a cartographical firm, with Hunting Aerosurvey, a company making maps from aerial photographs. The exhibition also included calendar illustrations commissioned for the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, the National Trust of Great Britain, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the World Wildlife Fund. Her work was displayed in London by the Royal Society, the Linnean Society and the British Museum of Natural History; at the International Exhibition of Botanical Art in South Africa and the Frans Hals Museum in Holland; and in Tel-Aviv, Wales and Scotland. A catalogue accompanied the exhibition. |
PIs played a significant roll in every major operation, from identifying the threat of a German invasion in 1941 to the preparations for D-Day in 1944 and the discovery of the German V weapons. |
Drawing Plants and Art Training
She began painting plants while living in North Wales. Her mother painted in oils and encouraged her daughter to paint. However Mary hated the smell of oil paint and preferred to paint using watercolours
She began painting plants while living in North Wales. Her mother painted in oils and encouraged her daughter to paint. However Mary hated the smell of oil paint and preferred to paint using watercolours
1930 - she was awarded the diploma of the Royal Drawing Society in London.
Her years based on the Chilterns enabled the development of a lot of knowledge of wild flowers on chalk. She probably did some freelance plant illustration
1957 - a week’s course in pen and ink drawing at the field studies centre at Flatford Mill. Here she met John Nash (1893-1977), brother of the painter Paul, who became her mentor. She attended his classes for 10 years.
Her years based on the Chilterns enabled the development of a lot of knowledge of wild flowers on chalk. She probably did some freelance plant illustration
1957 - a week’s course in pen and ink drawing at the field studies centre at Flatford Mill. Here she met John Nash (1893-1977), brother of the painter Paul, who became her mentor. She attended his classes for 10 years.
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NOTE: When in Essex Nash taught at Colchester Art School and conducted yearly plant illustration courses at Flatford Mill.
Nash's interest in botanical subjects is shown by his illustrations to Gathorne-Hardy’s Wild Flowers in Britain (Batsford 1938) |
Wild Flowers in Britain - illustrated by John Nash. Possibly a stimulus for an English Florilegium?
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John Nash had a great passion for plants and his technique as a plant illustrator deserves special notice as he excelled in the field. John Nash liked to use live specimen which sometimes was a problem when publishers asked for illustrations of plants which were not in season. He often used his garden, which was planted with a wide variety of plants such as roses, irises, gentians and hellebores. John Nash had always been interested in botany even as a child he had won a Botany Prize and, like his friend Cedric Morris, he called himself an 'artist plantsman'. |
The Years at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
(1960-1972)
(1960-1972)
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1960 - she applied for the post of Exhibition Officer and brought her portfolio of flower paintings to the interview.
Instead she was appointed to the post of Botanical Illustrator and Artist to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 1966 - Won an RHS Gold Medal (#1) 1966 - 1983 - Took over and ran the (Annual?) Botanical Illustration Course at Flatford Mill from John Nash. 1967 - elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London 1967 - designed a set of postage stamps about ‘British Flora’ (British Wild Flowers) for the General Post Office, in collaboration with the Reverend Keble Martin 1969 - Won an RHS Gold Medal (#2) |
Her work included illustrating papers for scientific journals and painting hiterto unrecorded and rare planst for the Kew Archives, many of which appear in Curtis' Botanial Magazine. 
Flatford Mill Field Centre
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Retirement (1972-2012)
Mary Grierson was, in theory, retired for 30 years. However she managed to get a lot done during very many of those 30 years
!973 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#3 - getting retirement off to a good start!)
!978 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#4)
1979 - Exhibition at Spink in London - "Hedgerows of England" (see below for more details)
1985 - Awarded the RHS Gold Veitch Memorial Medal
1986 - received an honorary degree of Master of Philosophy at the University of Reading - in appreciation of her work as a Botanical Artist
1987 - Exhibition at Spinks in London in November 1987 - Mary Grierson "An English Florilegium" (see below for more details)
1990 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#5)
1991-1997 - member of the RHS Picture Committee
1997 - Awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour
1992 - began to suffer from macular degeneration
1995 - a photographic portrait of Mary Grierson by Paul Tozer is added to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery
Failing eyesight in later years led her to take up illustrative embroidery, for which she again became famous.
Mary Grierson was, in theory, retired for 30 years. However she managed to get a lot done during very many of those 30 years
!973 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#3 - getting retirement off to a good start!)
!978 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#4)
1979 - Exhibition at Spink in London - "Hedgerows of England" (see below for more details)
1985 - Awarded the RHS Gold Veitch Memorial Medal
1986 - received an honorary degree of Master of Philosophy at the University of Reading - in appreciation of her work as a Botanical Artist
1987 - Exhibition at Spinks in London in November 1987 - Mary Grierson "An English Florilegium" (see below for more details)
1990 - Won another RHS Gold Medal (#5)
1991-1997 - member of the RHS Picture Committee
1997 - Awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour
1992 - began to suffer from macular degeneration
1995 - a photographic portrait of Mary Grierson by Paul Tozer is added to the collection of the National Portrait Gallery
Failing eyesight in later years led her to take up illustrative embroidery, for which she again became famous.
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2012 - She died, aged 99, on 30th January 2012 in Kingston Hospital in Surrey, having suffered a stroke on Boxing Day 2011. She was survived by survived by two nephews, two great nieces and a great nephew.
On 2nd May 2012 a number of her friends and Kew Colleagues gathered in the Reading Room of the Department of Library, Art and Archives for a Memorial Gathering to celebrate her life. A number of obituaries were published after her death
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I have a habit of reading the plaques on the seats at Kew Gardens and one day found the plaque relating to Mary Grierson - outside the Palm House
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REFERENCE
- Mary Grierson | Wikipedia
- In praise of the older artist - Mary Anderson Grierson| Making A Mark
- Artwork by Mary Grierson sold at auction | Invaluable
Publications
The books Mary Grierson illustrated included the following - in addition to numerous illustrations for Curtis's Botanical Magazine
- Mountain flowers by A. Huxley,
- An English florilegium (1987) with W.T. Stearn and C. Brickell,
- A Hawaiian Florilegium: Botanical Portraits from Paradise (1996) by Mary Grierson and Peter S. Green
- The genus Cyclamen by C. Grey-Wilson.
- The Country Life of Orchids by P. Francis Hunt; Illustrated by Mary Grierson;
- Hellebores.
Orchidaceae (1973) by P.Francis Hunt
Published by The Bourton Press, London (1973) | limited edition of 600 copies for sale
40 coloured plates by Mary Grierson
Hunt is a British botanist who served as curator of orchids at Kew and collaborated with Grierson on several projects.
Published by The Bourton Press, London (1973) | limited edition of 600 copies for sale
40 coloured plates by Mary Grierson
Hunt is a British botanist who served as curator of orchids at Kew and collaborated with Grierson on several projects.
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The Country Life book of orchids (1978) by P.Francis Hunt
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Hellebores (1989) by Brian Mathew
Includes 10 colour paintings by Mary Grierson   |
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An English Florilegium - flowers, trees, shrubs, fruits, herbs - the Tradescant legacy
by Christopher Brickell (Editor), Mary Grierson (Illustrator), William T. Stearn (Introduction) 
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This is a very large book which can best be described as an absolute treasure. Mary Grierson's amazing full plate paintings are accompanied by detailed narrative about the plants.
Mine came in a slipcase and arrived with three catalogues of solo exhibitions by Mary Grierson. Such are the delights buying second-hand - and that's how you have to buy this book as it's out of print. If you can buy 'new' it will be very expensive. Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Thames & Hudson Ltd; First Edition published 2 Nov. 1987 BUY THIS BOOK Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars in UK (2 customer reviews) An English Florilegium - flowers, trees, shrubs, fruits, herbs - the Tradescant legacy
 (new or used) from Amazon UK |
A Hawaiian Florilegium
(1996) with P.S. Green,
(1996) with P.S. Green,
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"Native plants of Hawaii are a primary focus of this volume and the reason the Garden invited Ms. Grierson to Kauai for five working visits in the 1970s and 1980s. But the collection also reflects the Hawaiian landscape seen by contemporary residents and visitors alike - with Polynesian and modern agricultural and ornamental plant immigrants now competing with the natives for attention and for space."
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Hardcover: 112 pages
Publisher: University of Hawai'i Press; First Edition edition (31 Dec. 1996) Language: English BUY THIS BOOK Rated 4.8 out of 5 in UK (6 customer reviewers) A Hawaiian Florilegium: Botanical Portraits from Paradise
from Amazon UK |
Commissions
After becoming established as a botanical artist at Kew, she was offered many external commissions.
- She spent two seasons in Israel and the Sinai, painting protected plants of that region for publication by the Israeli Nature Reserves Authority,
- She spent a season in Holland to do watercolor drawings for a book on the background and history of the tulip.
Exhibitions of Paintings by Mary Grierson
She exhibited her work in London and Scotland, in the USA and other countries and her work is in many collections both private and public.
Solo exhibitions in the UK
In London, she exhibited her own paintings with Spink & Son Ltd - at their gallery in King Street, St. James's, London SW1Y 6QS. The venue for exhibitions listed below is Spinks unless otherwise indicated.
Catalogues of three exhibitions by Mary Grierson
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Hedgerows of England
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Coastal Plants of England
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Mary Grierson - An English Florilegium
Botanical Watercolour Drawings of the Tradescant Legacy Date: 4th - 27th November 1987 |
Plants of the Hawaiian Islands and Other recent watercolours
Dates: 22nd May - 1st June 1990 |
Solo exhibitions in the USA
Paintings and Drawings by Mary Grierson
Venue: Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation
Dates: 7th AApril - 26th September 1975
Venue: Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation
Dates: 7th AApril - 26th September 1975
- This exhibition includedmore than 130 plant portraits in watercolor, pencil and ink. Artwork included anatomical drawings for plant monographs and portrayals of plants in habitat groups issued as art color prints or calendar illustrations. commissioned for the Society for the Promotion of Nature Reserves, the National Trust of Great Britain, the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the World Wildlife Fund.
- It was organized into categories representing projects carried out during Grierson's career, including botanical illustration and plant conservation. Among the selections were watercolors of living plants growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; life-size paintings of orchids; illustrations of tulip species collected from Asia, Asia Minor and the Middle East; depictions of British nature reserves; and paintings of endangered plants from all over the world.