Past botanical art exhibitions - organised alphabetically by the names of the states of the USA
These include a number of annual exhibitions in botanical gardens or by botanical art societies in specific parts of the country
Exhibitions by commercial art galleries are listed at the end of the page.
Exhibitions by commercial art galleries are listed at the end of the page.
California
Alcatraz
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Alcatraz Florilegium
an exhibition of botanical drawings and paintings documenting the plants of the Gardens of Alcatraz Venue: Prison Band Rehearsal Room, Alcatraz Island Dates: September 16th 2017 - January 17th 2018 Organised by: a project of Northern California Society of Botanical Artists (NCalSBA) in collaboration with the Garden Conservancy The exhibition included 127 works of art depicting a variety of “survivor” plants growing on the island and created by 77 NCalSBA artists. They were selected for exhibition by a jury. |
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University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
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Plants Illustrated: Seeds
Venue: Julia Morgan Hall | UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Dates: February 10 – February 21, 2017 Hours: 10am - 4pm Cost: Free with admission The Northern California Society of Botanical Artists showcase Botanical Art representing seeds and seed pods. |
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Dispersal: Seed Pod Photography by Anna Laurent
Venue: Julia Morgan Hall | UC Berkeley Botanical Garden Dates: January 17 – 30, 2017 Hours: 10am - 4pm Cost: Free with admission In her Dispersal series, Anna Laurent's photographs of seeds represent a scientific inquiry into the diversity of botanic design. Each includes companion text about the specimen’s form & function. The project's outreach includes partnering with botanic gardens and arboreta, including Harvard's Arnold Arboretum (Boston), Berkeley Botanic Garden (Berkeley, Calif.), Lotusland (Santa Barbara, Calif.), The Ecology Center (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), and the Hawai'i Tropical Botanical Garden (Hilo, Hawai'i). |
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Filoli
Filoli Historic House & Garden, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, CA 94062
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Filoli Annual Botanical Art Exhibition
Venue: Filoli, 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, California 94062 (about 30 miles south of San Francisco) | Map Online Map (gif) This is the West Coast’s most prominent botanical art exhibit. It comprises original and botanically accurate artwork not previously exhibited in a Filoli Botanical Art Exhibition in any two-dimensional medium. The organisation does NOT maintain an archive of past exhibitions. |
19th Annual Botanical Art Exhibit, Paintings and Drawings
Dates: August 8 — October 22: 18th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition in the USA Dates: Tuesday, April 5 through Sunday, June 12, 2016 Details: Prospectus and Entry Guidelines (also see "Call for Entries') Filoli’s 17th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition in the USA (Tuesday, March 24 through Sunday, June 7, 2015) |
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, California 91108
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Visual Voyages - Images of Latin American Nature from Columbus to Darwin
Venue: MaryLou and George Boone Gallery, Dates: Sept 16, 2017 - Jan 08, 2018 The exhibition explores how the depiction of Latin American nature contributed to art and science between the late 1400s and the mid-1800s. It features more than 150 paintings, rare books, illustrated manuscripts, prints, and drawings from The Huntington’s holdings as well as from dozens of other collections. Many of these works are on view in the United States for the first time.
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Complementing the exhibition is
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Visual Voyages: Images of Latin American Nature from Columbus to Darwin
by Daniela Bleichmar
by Daniela Bleichmar
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This book tells the story of story of the interrelationship of art and science in Latin America and Europe from the voyages of Columbus to the publications of Charles Darwin in the mid-19th century. It includes an interdisciplinary examination of more than 150 maps, illustrated manuscripts, still lifes, and landscape paintings spanning four hundred years - including a number of images of botanical art.
Professor Bleichmar's narrative is addressed to general audiences as well as students and scholars. Ms Bleichmar is Associate Professor of Art History and History at the University of Southern California. |
Hardcover: 240 pages
Color illustrations: 153 Publisher: Yale University Press Publication date: October 10, 2017 |
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In Pursuit of Flora: 18th-Century Botanical Drawings from The Huntington’s Art Collections
Venue: Huntington Art Gallery, Works on Paper Room Dates: Oct. 28, 2017–Feb. 19, 2018 See also For the Love of Flowers This exhibition is about the essential role and practice of botanical illustration during the so-called Age of Discovery, which revealed a vast new world of plant life that required description, cataloging, and recording in order to reflect the 18th-century European appreciation for the beauty of the natural world. It included 16 drawings by a range of artists who appreciate the natural world. They include some of the most important botanical illustrators of their day e.g. Georg Ehret (1708–1770). Others were painted by amateurs - meaning 'lovers of plants" as in “amare" meaning to love. An amateur referred to someone who was passionate about a subject and practiced a skill without regard for monetary compensation. |
Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770), Climbing Lily (Gloriosa Superba), 1763, watercolor on vellum. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens.
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Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden
301 North Baldwin Ave, Arcadia, CA 91007
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Capturing the Arboretum: The Art of Botanical Illustration
Venue: Los Angeles County Arboretum Library Dates : 16th July - 29th December 2016. A presentation of artwork depicting plants found in the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden. The Arboretum is home to a large collection of plants derived from Mediterranean climates around the world.These include biogeographical collections from Africa, Australia, Canary Islands and Madagascar. Many of the “garden plants” found in Southern California were developed and introduced by the Arboretum. See “Capturing the Art of Botanical Illustration” Opening Reception at the Los Angeles Arboretum |
Diane Nelson Daly, Bauhinia blakeana, Hong Kong Orchid Tree. Watercolor, © 2016.
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Illustrating the Urban Forest: 20 Years of Botanical Art
Venue: Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Dates: 6 July - 28 September 2017 |
An exhibition by the The Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC). This show will be held in conjunction with a celebration of BAGSC's 20th anniversary. The theme of the show will be Mediterranean-climate trees in botanical gardens or arboretum
Read about the exhibition in the blog post BAGSC Exhibition: “Illustrating the Urban Forest: 20 Years of Botanical Art” at the LA Arboretum Library |
San Diego Botanic Garden
230 Quail Gardens Drive, Encinitas CA 92024
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Cornucopia: A Botanical Art Exhibit of Edible Plants by members of the Botanical Art Guild of Southern California
Venue: San Diego Botanic Garden - Ecke Building 230 Quail Gardens Dr, Encinitas, CA 92024, United States Dates: September 23, 2016 – November 18, 2016 Cornucopia focused on all consumable plants and the diversity of plant life used in food, beverages and to enhance flavor. Thirty-nine pieces of art from 18 different artists from the Southern California Botanical Art Guild |
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An exhibition by the The Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California (BAGSC)
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The Alcatraz Florilegium
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Artwork from the Gardens of Alcatraz
(multiple venues) These exhibitions display some of the 127 botanical paintings of plants in the Gardens of Alcatraz. Venue: Orinda Public Library, 26 Orinda Way, Orinda, CA 94563
Dates: 3rd - 30th June 2017 Hours: Library Hours Cost: Free Venue: Skylight Gallery Exhibit Area – 6th Floor
San Francisco Public Library, 100 Larkin Street, San Francisco, 94102 Dates: 14th January - 19th March 2017 Hours: Library Hours Cost: Free Event: The Story Behind the Florilegium: Presentation with Lyn Dahl, Sally Petru and Catherine Watters – the Alcatraz Florilegium Committee February 9, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., Main Library, Latino Hispanic Community Roo |
Cover of the new Catalogue of The Alcatraz Florilegium - available at the exhibition
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University of California, San Francisco
Deceptively Dangerous Plants
Venue: University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Faculty Alumni House, 745 Parnassus Ave. San Francisco, CA, 94143
Dates: February 2 – June 7, 2017
Hours: Open by appointment: 415.476.4723
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, March 4, 2 – 4 pm
Original watercolors from the Mary L. Harden School of Botanical Illustration, including a number of NCalSBA members.
Venue: University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Faculty Alumni House, 745 Parnassus Ave. San Francisco, CA, 94143
Dates: February 2 – June 7, 2017
Hours: Open by appointment: 415.476.4723
Artists’ Reception: Saturday, March 4, 2 – 4 pm
Original watercolors from the Mary L. Harden School of Botanical Illustration, including a number of NCalSBA members.
University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley
200 Centennial Drive, Berkeley, CA 94720-5045 (website)
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Plants Illustrated – Celebrating Trees!
Venue: Julia Morgan Hall Dates: January 9 – 25, 2018 The Plants Illustrated exhibition held in conjunction with the Northern California Society of Botanical Artists, invites viewers to explore the relationship between scientific study and fine art. |
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Colorado
Betty Ford Alpine Garden
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Rare Plants II: Imperiled Plants of Colorado
by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists Venue: Betty Ford Alpine Gardens 522 S Frontage Rd E, Vail, CO 81657 Dates: 26 August - 7 October 2017 Juror's comment Rare II is the second Rare exhibit created by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists to inform the public about threatened wildflowers of Colorado in the Master List of Rare Plants developed by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program |
Cover of the Rare II Catalogue
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Museum of Natural History University of Colorado
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Cannabis: A Visual Perspective
Venue: Bio Lounge, Museum of Natural History, Colorardo University Henderson Building, 15th and Broadway, Boulder, CO 80309 Dates: 8 September 2017 - 31 January 2018 A juried selection of botanical illustrations presented by the Rocky Mountain Society of Botanical Artists (RMSBA). This exhibit is a first. It explores the diversity the genus Cannabis and spotlights the groundbreaking research conducted at the University of Colorado Boulder. Article: CU Museum of Natural History exhibit takes detailed look at marijuana plant Denver botanical artist Ida Pemberton sketched cannabis and other botanicals in the 1930s-'40s. A collection of her watercolors are displayed at CU's Museum of Natural History. |
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Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art
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"Potions, Poisons, and Panacea - Medicinal and Pharmacological Botanical Illustrations"
Venue: The Fulginiti Pavilion for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado, B137 13080 East 19th Avenue, Aurora, Colorado 80045 Dates: September 8 – November 10, 2016 organised by the Arts and Humanities in Healthcare Program at the Center for Bioethics and Humanities in partnership with the Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration. The exhibition includes illustrations of plants that demonstrate—or allegedly demonstrate—healing, curative, or therapeutic qualities. See my blog post Potions, Poisons and Panaceas exhibition in Denver |
Susan Curnutte, Helleborus orientalis ‘Ivory Prince’, 2014 watercolor and graphite, 12” x 16
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Edible
Venue: York Street - Gates Garden Court Gallery, Denver Botanic Gardens Dates: 20th November 2016 - 12th February 2017 A juried exhibition of botanical artwork by the artists who have participated in courses at the Denver Botanic Gardens School of Botanical Art and Illustration. The theme for this show is plants that are edible by humans - those used directly for consumption and those used as components of food e.g. spices. It highlights the artists’ technical skill and botanical knowledge. You can see artwork in the link in the title. This was the Call for Entries on the SBAI Blog |
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Florida
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"Natives in Paradise" - An Exhibition of Watercolor Paintings of Florida Native Plants
Venue: J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, 1 Wildlife Drive, Sanibel, FL 33957 Dates: 2nd January - 27th February 2018 This is an exhibition of botanical watercolors of Florida native plants by Pauline Goldsmith & Cynthia Rice. The exhibition is the result of collaboration with Ranger Jeff Combs of J.N ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Pauline Goldsmith and Cynthia Rice are both South Florida botanical artists of longstanding, who have a passion for native plants and conservation. In their daily lives they reside on the doorsteps of J.N. ‘Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge and the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks, from which they never fail to gain their inspiration. The exhibition features portraits of Florida native plants and butterflies many of which you can see every day, although some are becoming rare or endangered, or their predominant locations are shifting, due to a change in water flow or competition from exotic species.. |
Pauline Goldsmith and Cynthia Rice at the opening of their joint exhibition
Pauline was a co-founder of co-founder of Tropical Botanic Artists in late 2005 and co-chair from 2006 - 2016. Cynthia is the Treasurer of the American Society of Botanical Artists.
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Illinois
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Enriching Life at the Brush Wood Center
3rd Annual Botanical Art Exhibit: Heeyoung Kim & Students Venue: Brushwood Center at Ryerson Woods, Deerfield (Riverwoods), Ilinois Dates: November 12 - December 21, 2017 Opening Reception: November 12, 1 pm - 3 pm, Image: Plumeria obtusa, watercolor by Jane Sturgeon. The exhibition includes botanical artwork by Heeyoung Kim and twenty of her students. |
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The Reed-Turner Woodland Botanical Artists
Invasive Plants in the Midwest Landscape Venue: Mayslake Peabody Estate, 1717 West 31st Street, Oak Brook, Illinois Date: July 26 - September 15, 2017 Questions? Call (630) 206-9566 This is an exhibition by Reed-Turner Botanical Artists features works in watercolor, gouache, pencil and pen-and-ink that raise awareness of common plants that threaten the health of local habitats. |
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Massachusetts
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RAW/plants - a Feast of Botanical Art
an exhibition by New England Society of Botanical Artists 38 paintings by 23 artists , with a full color catalog Venue: South Shore Art Center, 119 Ripley Road Cohasset MA 02025 Dates: 15th September - 5th November |
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Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University
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From Sicily to the Arnold Arboretum: Susan Pettee, artist, Mary Taylor Simeti, writer
Venue: Arnold Arboretum Hunnewell Building lecture hall at 125 Arborway (note call ahead to see if the hall is in use) Dates: May 12 – July 16, 2017 This exhibition focuses on the wild flowers found in the Greek Ruins of Sicily and making a record of them before their threatened destruction through the use of herbicides. Susan Pettee and writer Mary Taylor Simeti are both members of the Harvard Class of 1962 and Pettee is also a member of ASBA and has had work shown in the International Juried Exhibition. For those interested in exhibiting at the arboretum these are the Exhibition Guidelines (pdf) |
Painting of Sicilian wild flowers by Susan Pettee
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Minnesota
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Inspired by Nature
10th Annual Botanical Art Exhibition by the Great River Chapter of ASBA Venue: Ames Center, 12600 Nicollet Avenue, Burnsville MN. Dates: 29th November - 31 December 2017 The Great River Chapter of the ASBA has been showing members' botanical artworks in an annual show, "Inspired by Nature" since 2008 - with ever increasing numbers of participating artists. |
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The Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium
Venue: Benson Gallery, American Swedish Institute
Dates: Jan 14, 2017 to Feb 28, 2017
A selection of paintings from the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium
Venue: Benson Gallery, American Swedish Institute
Dates: Jan 14, 2017 to Feb 28, 2017
A selection of paintings from the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden Florilegium
New York
New York Botanical Garden - LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery
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"Redoute to Warhol: Bunny Mellon's Botanical Art"
Venue: LuEsther T. Mertz Library Art Gallery Dates: October 8, 2016 - February 12, 2017 The exhibition spanned nearly seven centuries and comprised nearly 80 significant works of art from the historic collection of the late Rachel Lambert ("Bunny") Mellon who was renowned for her interest in plants and horticulture and who died in 2014 age 103. It included many never-before-seen pieces, ranging from 16th-century French engravings to 20th-century works by Andy Warhol. Artists represented in the exhibition include: Johannes Baptista van Fornehburgh (1585-ca.1649), Jacob Marrel (1614-81), Nicolas Robert (1614-85), Girolamo Pini (b.1614), Jan van Kessel (1626-79), Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-70), Pierre Redouté (1759–1840), Henri Rousseau (1844-1910), Picasso and Warhol Selected works can be viewed here. |
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Over the course of decades, Mrs. Mellon assembled a distinguished collection of botanical artwork and a library of more than 10,000 volumes on botanical subjects, reference resources that informed her professional pursuits as well as personal interests in Oak Spring's greenhouses and gardens.
Pennsylvania
Hunt Institute of Botanical Documentation
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Title: Worlds Within
Venues/Dates: Hunt Institute - 22 September–14 December 2017 AND Miller Gallery at Carnegie Mellon University, 1st Floor, Purnell Center for the Arts - 23 September–12 November 2017 Worlds Within is a co-presented exhibition at two galleries on the Carnegie Mellon University campus: the Hunt Institute and the Miller Gallery. The two venues, at either end of the Carnegie Mellon University campus, are exhibiting:
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Exquisite Patterns in Nature
Venue: 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University Dates: 19 March - 30June 2017 Hours: Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–noon and 1–5 p.m.; Sunday, 1–4 p.m. (except 14, 16 and 21 April and 7, 21, 28 and 29 May). The patterns of nature in selections of artwork and books from the Hunt Institute's permanent collections - including simple symmetries and more complex tessellations and fractals; growth rings, whorls and logarithmic spirals |
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Great Expectations
Venue: 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University Dates: 17 March - 30 June 2016 Open to the public free of charge The exhibition focuses on the bid and seed and the continuous cycle of plant development. It includes artworks by 36 historical and contemporary artists illustrate their individual observations of intriguing moments of developing stages that may occur over a period of months or even years. |
The artwork chosen for the exhibition is: Donguri [Acorn, Quercus Linnaeus, Fagaceae], acrylic, gouache and pencil on paper by Kieta Yonezu (1943–), 1982, 30 × 46 cm, for Rureberukan, Donguri (Chiyodaku, Tokyo, Kanda Ogawamachi, 1983), HI Art accession no. 6838.
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Hunt Institute - The Mysterious Nature of Fungi
Venue: 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University Dates: 17 September - 17 December 2015 An exhibition of different varieties of fungi - recognised as the 5th kingdom of organisms in 1969. Illustrated in this exhibition are the ascomycetes, basidiomycetes and zygomycetes. |
Exhibitions by the Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators (PSBI)
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"Prelude to Spring" - Dutch Garden Flower Exhibition
Organisers: Philadelphia Society of Botanical Illustrators & The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Venue: McLean Library (Ground Floor), Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Headquarters, 20th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia Dates: January 17 – April 13, 2017 |
The Wonder of Discovery... Passion and Precision in Botanical Art
Organisers: Philadephia Society of Botanical Illustrators 2017 Members’ Choice Spring Exhibition. Venue: Fine Arts Center Gallery, Montgomery County Community College, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, PA Dates: May 10 – May 26, 2017 Hours: Monday – Thursday 8am–9:30pm, Friday 8:30am–4:30pm, Reception: Wednesday May 10, 5–7 pm |
Wet Feet — Plants that Live in a Watery World
Venue: 2018 Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Flower Show (Theme: Wonders of Water)
Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets • Philadelphia, PA
Dates: March 3–11, 2018
Artwork in the PSBI exhibit will highlight plants that grow naturally along streams, rivers, and shorelines, as well as plants that grow in swamps, bogs, marshes, ponds, and estuaries anywhere in the world. In addition, PSBI artists will be demonstrating the techniques of botanical art, as they have done annually at the Philadelphia Flower Show since 1998.
Venue: 2018 Pennsylvania Horticulture Society Flower Show (Theme: Wonders of Water)
Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th & Arch Streets • Philadelphia, PA
Dates: March 3–11, 2018
Artwork in the PSBI exhibit will highlight plants that grow naturally along streams, rivers, and shorelines, as well as plants that grow in swamps, bogs, marshes, ponds, and estuaries anywhere in the world. In addition, PSBI artists will be demonstrating the techniques of botanical art, as they have done annually at the Philadelphia Flower Show since 1998.
Washington DC
United States Botanic Garden Conservatory
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Celebrating Flora of the U.S. National Parks (Washington - 2016)
Venue: Conservatory West Gallery at the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory, 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20001 Dates: February 18 - October 2, 2016 |
This exhibition celebrates
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Commercial Galleries - displaying botanical art
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Dr. Dain L. Tasker: Floral Studies
Dates: January 9 - February 19, 2016 Venue: Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Avenue La Jolla, CA 92037 |
an important collection of vintage x-ray photographs of flowers by Dr. Dain L Tasker
Tasker’s floral x-ray photograph were created in the 1930’s |
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An Interior Garden of Botanical Art
Venue: ILevel Studio, 37 E. 7th St, New York, NY 10003 Dates: November 4 – December 16, 2016 Venue: Pamela Lerner’s Home and Design Shop, Bellport NY Dates: August 19th - September 19th |
An exhibition of original contemporary botanical art on vellum and paper featuring leading artists represented by Susan Frei Nathan Fine Works on Paper. Each piece in the show is selected to create a lush interior garden on the gallery walls. All works of art for sale.
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Susan Frei Nathan - Fine Works on Paper LLC
Nature's Voice: Seasonal Changes Captured through Botanical Art Venue: Susan Frei Nathan (Curated Online Exhibition) Part II, Spring-Summer April 25 – August 25, 2016 An Interior Garden of Botanical Art in Bellport, NY An exhibition of Contemporary Botanical Portraiture, featuring over 30 original botanical artworks from 14 American and British botanical artists |
The emphasis is on an online exhibition that changes with the seasons - with work from master botanical artists and a variety of interpretations of how to represent botanical subject matter. Included are: Beverly Duncan, Monika deVries Gohlke, Jean Emmons, Lara Call Gastinger, Elizabeth Enders, Charles A. Johnson, Esther Klahne, Karen Kluglein, Denise Walser-Kolar and Carol Woodin
The gallery is the premier commercial gallery promoting botanical art in the USA. As a dealer, Susan Frei Nathan is dedicated to the field of botanical art. She partners with galleries in different locations for exhibitions and also now provides a curated online exhibition of artwork relevant to the season. |
Past Exhibitions - still online
The University of Delaware
- The Art of Botanical Illustration. Women Illustrators On-line exhibition of The Art of Botanical Illustration
CANADA
British Columbia
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Jeannette Sirois: “The Stillness of Life”
Venue: Salt Springs Art Council Dates: 25th August - 17th September 2017 An exhibition of a series of oversized botanical portraits. The artwork is created using oil and wax, coloured pencils, rendered on paper and mounted on cradleboards of up to 36”x54” |
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