The Art of Botanical Illustration: An Illustrated History
by Wilfrid Blunt (1950); updated and revised by William Stearn (1994)
​

Synopsis

The Art of Botanical Illustration: An Illustrated History
by Wilfrid Blunt (revised by William Stearn)
​
This book tells the (almost) complete story of the evolution of botanical illustration over a period of some 3,000 years.

​It provides a "comprehensive, critical and well illustrated survey" of how plants and flowers have been illustrated over time by different artists in different places for different purposes.
Picture
The original 1950 publication
Summary
​
ESSENTIAL READING / HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 
This book - first published in 1950 - is probably the most famous book about the history of botanical art and illustrations and the artists and illustrators that produced it. 

This is the standard by which all other books about botanical illustration are judged.

​It represents a benchmark in terms of documenting botanical illustration and artists included in this book are worth noting.

It's still considered to be a classic work, is recommended as a reference and it can be quite difficult to get hold of an original copy in very good condition for a reasonable sum.
Mr Blunt's book is unique in that it is the very first book to give us a complete picture of the history of flower illustrations as a whole.  His book is a classic - it will be read and admired today and will be kept for reference for all time.
Lord Aberconway in the The Sunday Times

Timeline of publication

Based on the preface to my 1967 reprint of the 1950 first edition the sequence goes like this:
  • 1950 - first edition (completed July 1949; 47 colour plates 32 black and white plates and 75 figures in the text.
  • (undated) second edition - corrects errors in the text and provides additional information
  • (undated) third edition - provides additional notes
  • (undated) fourth edition - more additional notes 
  • 1994 - 
  • 2015 - Reprint of the 1994 edition
The book was updated with additional information sent to Blunt and Stearns and by 1994 included a more thorough review of botanical artists in the 20th century.
I've got copies of both the 1950 and the 1994 editions and took their book covers off to demonstrate the difference - although on reflection it might have been a good idea to included a coin to demonstrate the difference in size. There are also differences in the colours of the images of botanical illustration reproduced in both books.

The 2015 reprint is also reproduced further down the page. It's perfectly possible to get hold of all three copies.
Book Cover of the 1st edition (1950) and smaller version of 'The Art of Botanical Illustration
Book Cover of the 1st edition (1950) and smaller version of 'The Art of Botanical Illustration
The Art of Botanical Illustration Book cover of the large 2nd edition
Book cover of the large 2nd edition published in 1994
1950 - original publication by Wilfrid Blunt
This is the original 1950 edition published by Collins size of a smallish novel. The images tend to look a bit squeezed on the page
Revised by Stearn and republished in 1994 (Antique Collectors' Club). This large second edition (1994 Antique Collectors Club edition) provides larger and much better coloured images.
Highlights
  • Monumental and impressive work of academic study which is not in the least bit dry
  • Excellent reference book - it's well-researched. I've yet to find a pre-20th century botanical artist of note in Europe that is not included
  • the structure of the book makes sense of what is a very long and complicated history
  • images are meticulously referenced
  • Blunt was able to access some amazing sources of botanical art  including those in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle
  • A book you will return to again and again if you're interested in the history of botanical art
  • Appendix A includes a series of 8 articles by W. H. Fitch
  • Chapter on the 20th Century includes a detailed description of the approach to botanical illustration by Stella Ross-Craig
  • Brilliant academic bibliography for those wanting to study botanical art
Think again?
  • This is not a quick read!  Very much a book to read over time.
  • Contemporary artists listed only include those known to Stearn prior to 1994 - hence it omits a number of important and more recent artists
  • Very limited coverage of the development of botanical art in Asia (China, Japan, India) and the Americas - it's a UK/European-centric book which emphasises developments within Europe and in particular places close to the UK and artists who came to work in the UK
The test is as interesting and lively as the illustrations and one compact mass of information.....
The Art of Botanical Illustration is unlikely to be superceded, except for particular studies, for a very long time
​The Spectator
'Let no one think this is a book only for the specialist. It is essential for the specialist, certainly, but it is also for all the flower-lovers and all those who enjoy the by-ways of biography and the added attraction of good writing'.
Vita Sackville-West - author, gardner and gardning correspondent of The Observer
AUTHORS
Wilfrid Blunt (1901 - 1987) was an author and art historian as well as an art teacher - initially at Haileybury College (1923 - 1932) and then Eton School  (1932-1959) (where he also taught Rory McEwen) . In 1959 he became Curator of the Watts gallery in Surrey.  He was also the brother of the art historian Anthony Blunt, who was Surveyor of the King's Pictures and commented on the art. Wilfrid Blunt wrote 25 scholarly books between 1947 and 1986 - with this book being the most well-known and well-regarded.

He collaborated with the botanist and author of 'Botanical Latin' William T. Stearn (1911-2001) to write The Art of Botanical Illustration - which was completed in 1949 and first published in 1950. Stearn was also Librarian of the Lindley Library and then botanist at the British Museum (Natural History) between 1952-1976.
Together Blunt and Stearns won the prestigious Veitch Gold Medal fromThe Royal Horticultural Society, which is awarded each year for "to persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the art, science or practice of horticulture."
​
The Art of Botanical Illustration (Third Edition)
CONTENTS
  1. The Botanical Artist
  2. The Legacy of Antiquity
  3. The Rebirth of Naturalism
  4. The First printed Herbals
  5. The Herbals of Brunfels and Fuchs
  6. The decline of the woodcut
  7. Some Flower Painters of the Late Sixteenth Century
  8. The Early Etchers and Metal Engravers
  9. Ravel, Robert and Aubriet
  10. Hlooand: The Flower-Piece and the Dutch Influence
  11. Some Botanical Books of the Late Seventeenth and early Eighteenth centuries
  12. The Age of Ehret
  13. West and East
  14. The Age of Redoute
  15. The Botanical Magazine
  16. Kilburn, Sowerby and Sydenham Edwards
  17. Francis and Fedinand Bauer
  18. Thornton and the Temple of Flora
  19. England in the Early Nineteenth Century
  20. Walter Fitch: The Age of the Lithograph
  21. John Ruskin: A Digression
  22. England in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century
  23. The Twentieth Century
  24. Epilogue Five Hundred Years of Botanical Illustration
Appendix A: Series of Eight Articles
Appendix B: Some Illustrated Books on British Plants
Appendix C: Sources of Further Information
​
​Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Antique Collectors' Club;
Revised ed. edition (29 July 2015)
Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 3.4 x 29.9 cm
​
BUY THIS BOOK
Average Customer Rating out of 5 stars:
  • in UK: 5 - based on 5 customer reviews
  • in USA: 5 - based on 4 customer reviews​

The curious number of books all called "The Art of Botanical Illustration"
​

The version of the original book that is currently available NEW (except via second hand book shops) is a 2015 reprint of the 1994 edition which was updated by William Stearn, prior to his death in 2001, to include many more artists from the twentieth century. So far as I am aware, no author has been nominated or identified to do any further updates to the book following Stearn's death. 

​You can tell which book you are buying by the cover.
Picture
The original edition - which is small (and which I own)
Picture
The large Antique Collectors edition published in 1994 - the images look much better in this edition - which I own
Picture
The Antique Collectors' Club. They say Revised edition (29 July 2015) but I've yet to spot a difference and it looks more like a reprint to me.

Other books ALSO called "The Art of Botanical Illustration" by other authors
​

It seems Wilfrid Blunt and William Stearn rather cornered the market and other publishers are also keen to try and emulate - with books with the same title!
The Art of Botanical Illustration is by the botanist, researcher and author Martyn Rix and was first published by the Lutterworth Press in 1981 as The Art of the Botanist. Its name was later changed when it was republished by Bracken Books in 1989.

​The Art of Botanical Illustration by Lys de Bray was first published by Batsford in 1989 and then republished by Quarto in 2001.
BACK: Home
GO TO: Botany Books for Artists