The UK has a number of major Art Galleries, Museums and Botanical Gardens,
which hold botanical art exhibitions and have permanent collections of botanical art and illustration
which hold botanical art exhibitions and have permanent collections of botanical art and illustration
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This page has details about botanical art EXHIBITIONS at:
The Permanent Collections (UK) Page has information about botanical art and illustration in public and private collections |
I would advocate the holding of small exhibitions, changed every six months, of fine illustrated botanical books and original drawings. It ought not to be too difficult to find space in one of the museums in Kew Gardens; and the Natural History Museum has the materials for something even more impressive on similar lines |
Banner: View of Mark Frith: A Legacy of Ancient Oaks in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery October 2018-March 2019 (details below)
Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art
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Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art is located within the grounds of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew. It is the first art gallery in the world DEDICATED to botanical art.
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery celebrated its 10th anniversary in April 2018 and the 1,000,000 visitor arrived in the summer of 2018. Hours: The gallery opens at 10am each day and closes at:
Current or upcoming exhibitions are listed below. Past exhibitions are listed in the archive (see box) |
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Contemporary Botanical Art celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2018 - and welcomes its 1,000,000th visitor too!
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The Shirley Sherwood Gallery Exhibition Archive Page includes:
- A short bio of Dr. Shirley Sherwood
- a summary of PAST EXHIBITIONS at the Gallery. This includes links to reviews and images of the exhibitions.
Exhibitions in 2019
This is a summary of exhibitions at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew - see below for more details.
SUMMER 2019: In the Summer of 2019 there are two exhibitions (13 April to 27 October 2019)
SUMMER 2019: In the Summer of 2019 there are two exhibitions (13 April to 27 October 2019)
- Chihuly at Kew: Reflections on nature - A range of work by Dale Chihuly, the world's most celebrated contemporary glass artist
- Exotica - A diverse art collection of beautifully unusual tropical plants which are exotic and different. Many of the plants can be found growing somewhere at Kew but often originate in the southern hemisphere tropics. The exhibition's paintings were mostly created in the subject plant’s native country although some specimens were drawn in the glasshouses here at Kew.
Adenia hastata by Vicki Thomas. Watercolour on paper on FV. (The Shirley Sherwood Collection)
Exotica are defined as interesting, unusual objects seen in unfamiliar surroundings, far away from their distant countries of origin. Come and see our stunning new collection of around 30 paintings, depicting waterlilies, lotus, water hyacinth, passion flowers and more.
Images of Nature Gallery | Natural History Museum, South Kensington
Address: Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD
The Images of Nature Gallery has a temporary themed exhibition each year. There are usually four rotations of artworks and illustrations during the course of the exhibition.
The Images of Nature Gallery has a temporary themed exhibition each year. There are usually four rotations of artworks and illustrations during the course of the exhibition.
Exhibitions in 2019
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Expeditions and Endeavours: Images of Nature
The exhibition content will change every four months Dates: July 2018 - October 2019 Hours: 10am - 5pm Tickets: FREE to the public every day. For centuries, scientists and artists have embarked on a succession of expeditions to document the natural world. The observations of flora and fauna made by the artists on these voyages of natural history have contributed greatly to our understanding of nature. Some of these artworks can now be explored in this exhibition. |
March - July 2019 (natural history oriented)
July - October 2019
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The RHS Lindley Library + RHS Gardens
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The Lindley Library only offers a small space - but it holds regular exhibitions of botanical art, some of which then tour the country to appropriate venues - including displays within the gardens - at the RHS Gardens around the country.
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Address: 80 Vincent Square, LONDON SW1P 2PE
Find out more about RHS Libraries exhibitions and events |
Exhibitions in 2019
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Worth a Thousand Words
Dates: 20 May - 26 July 2019 Hours: 10am - 5pm This exhibition explores the ways in which contemporary artists continue to raise standards and push the boundaries of botanical illustration. The RHS Lindley Library continues to add to its Art Collection and acquires contemporary Gold medal standard botanical art by artists who have exhibited at RHS Shows. Artists must go through a rigorous selection process before being eligible to exhibit. Their works are judged by a panel of experts and all aspects of the display considered. This ranges from the technical skill of the artist to the botanical and horticultural content of the picture as well and the nature and scale of the project as a whole. This exhibition features original artworks in watercolour, gouache, pen and pencil, by artists who have excelled in all areas to achieve the RHS Gold medal standard. |
(partial view) Passiflora 'Jelly Joker', watercolour by Caroline Jackson-Houlston, 2018
Talk: Botanical Art at the RHS on 4th July
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The Garden Museum
The Garden Museum reopened in 2017 after a £7.5 million restoration project. It's held on botanical art exhibition to date (see archive) and can be expected to do so again in future.
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The Garden Museum, housed in the ancient church of St Mary at Lambeth is also the burial place of John Tradescant (c1570 – 1638), the first great gardener and plant-hunter in British history. His tomb is the centrepiece of a knot garden planted with the flowers which grew in his London garden four centuries ago.
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Portrait of John Tradescant the elder, attributed to Cornelis de Neve
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Exhibitions in 2019
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Emma Tennant: A Botanical Tour Of Great Britain From The Scillies To Sutherland
Dates: 6 March - 28 April 2019 a keen botanist and watercolourist, her watercolour paintings are accompanied by notes delving into the history of her subjects, paying tribute to the famous plant hunters and explorers of the past. All works are watercolour and ink on either an off-white Nepalese paper, or a Japanese kind made from the bark of a tree called Broussonetia papyrifera. |
Crops of botanical paintings in watercolour by Emma Tennant
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Royal Collection
The Queens Gallery at Buckingham Palace
The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse
The Queens Gallery periodically displays botanical paintings which form part of the Royal Collection.
See Past Botanical Art Exhibitions in the UK for exhibitions which have included the paintings by Merian acquired by King George III
See Past Botanical Art Exhibitions in the UK for exhibitions which have included the paintings by Merian acquired by King George III
The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge University
The Fitzwilliam Museum has an important collection of Botanical Art due to the bequest of Henry Rogers Broughton, 2nd Lord Fairhaven, who donated his entire collection to the Museum in 1973. (See Permanent Collections) Every three years, as part of the terms of the bequest, the Fitzwilliam puts on an exhibition of botanical watercolours.
The Ashmolean / Bodleian, Oxford University
The Ashmolean periodically has exhibitions of botanical art. See also Permanent Collections.
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GO TO EXHIBITIONS IN THE UK
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