This page highlights artists and illustrators
creating contemporary botanical art and illustration of distinction
who are based or born in Africa
The majority of botanical artists based in Africa live in South Africa which has the most amazing diversity of flora.

I aim to develop the list to include those working in other countries and I'd very much appreciate any help people can give me with this. See the description on the right for the criteria used for who to include on this website (i.e. I don't list every artist)
This page is not comprehensive as yet and is in development. ​

My general 'rule of thumb' for who gets included in this section is that the artist has to have
  • won an RHS Gold Medal and/or 
  • have their botanical artwork included in major/notable collections. (e.g. Hunt, RHS or Shirley Sherwood) or equivalent.
​If you believe that you should have a mention on this page please contact me.
Note: The banner image is part of the RHS Gold Medal winning display of Parasitic plants in situ with the Host Plant by Lynda de Wet

South Africa
​

(Valerie) Fay Anderson GM
b. Pakistan in 1931. Fay Anderson emigrated to South Africa in 1952. Diploma in Fine Arts in 1955. Lives in Cape Town.
In 2013, she was awarded the Kirstenbosch Biennale Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her very considerable contribution to South African botany and raising awareness of South African flora in the last 50 years. Prior to this her achievements included:
  • Life membership of the Botanical Art Society of South Africa;
  • the Cythna Letty Award for botanical illustration from the Botanical Society of South Africa,
  • a Certificate of Merit by the South African Association of Botanists for her outstanding contribution to South African botany.
  • two RHS Grenfell Gold Medals.
As a freelance botanical illustrator, she painted plants for numerous books including:
  • The Ericas of southern Africa (1967);
  • The Proteas of southern Africa (1982);
  • The Moraeas of southern Africa (1986);
  • The Woody Iridaceae (1993);
  • The Gladiolus of southern Africa (1998);
  • Flowering plants of southern Africa. and
  • The Cape Orchids (2012).
Her work can be found in numerous botanical art collections including those of Kew, the Hunt Institute, Missouri Botanical Garden, Kirstenbosch and Shirley Sherwood (see CBA p.17). Two of her watercolours appear in Blunt and Stearne’s The Art of Botanical Illustration.
Dr Auriol Batten (d. 2015)
Renowned artist who produced 100 original watercolour plates for Flowers of South Africa, now donated to nation. Honorary Life Member of BAASA and RHS Gold Medal Winner in 1986. You can see a tribute exhibition to her 
Gillian Condy 
b. 1952. ​SANBI's official artist since 1983. Diploma in graphics and scientific illustration at Middlesex Polytechnic and continued her studies at the Royal College of Art (Master of Arts). Has participated in over 180 group exhibitions worldwide. Awarded the Jill Smythies Award from the Linnean Society (1990) plus seven RHS Gold Medals and two Gold Medals at the Kirstenbosch Biennale. One of the founding members of the Botanical Artists Association of Southern Africa. (see also A new aloe species named after Gillian Condy
Elbe Joubert Domröse
Botanical artist and tutor. Gold/silver medallist in Kirstenbosch Biennales. Born in Standerton, studied at Pretoria Art Centre and subsequently taught art at school and to botanical artists. Her work is in South African and overseas collections. Numerous illustrations published in botanical publications for Stellenbosch University, Kew Gardens, London and the University of the Western Cape. Her botanical illustrations sometimes add fauna of the area where the species comes from.
South African Botanical Art: Peeling Back the Petals
by Marion Arnold et al

This is a very comprehensive survey of botanical art in South Africa in terms of history and contemporary botanical art
The quality and reproduction of the images in this book justify a purchase on their own.

However this book also provides an extremely well researched and thorough history of the development of botanical art in South Africa and its particular features. It also includes a Concise Dictionary of South African Botanical Artists over time which has been compiled by Gillian Condy and John Rourke. 

The essays are an enjoyable read. I found them most stimulating.

This book is endorsed by the Society of Botanical Artists in South Africa.
Contributing Authors: John Rourke, Dee Snijman, John Manning & Peter Goldblatt

Hardcover: 216 pages
Publisher: Florilegium (1 Dec. 2001)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
It far exceeded my expectations when I got hold of my own copy. 

BUY THIS BOOK
Jennifer Johnston Davidson 
Gold at the Kirstenbosch Biennale 2010.

Wilna Eloff GM 
Gold at the Kirstenbosch Biennales in 2006, 2008 and 2014. Has work in the the Hunt Institute for Botanical Art. She specialises in indigenous trees and plants

Jenny Hyde-Johnston 
Awarded Gold Medals at all three Kirstenbosch Biennale’s which she entered (2006, 2008 and 2013) with her 2008 pieces being named “Best on Show’. Also awarded a Gold Medal at the 21st World Orchid Congress, 2014 (see Local botanical artist wins gold at WOC with work featuring indigenous orchid)​
Barbara Pike
born 29 March 1933 in Johannesburg. Graduated in B.Sc. in botany and zoology at Witwatersrand University (1952) botanical illustrator for the Botany Department at Witwatersrand University between the years 1957 to 1985. Awarded silver medals by Kirstenbosch in 2000 and 2004, gold medals in 2002 and 2006. Work has been shown in the Smithsonian Institution, the Royal Albert Museum, Seiji Togo Memorial Sompo Museum of Art in Japan and is represented in the Shirley Sherwood Collection. 

Ann Schweizer * (1930-2014) b. Cape Town, South Africa

​Janet Snyman 
Gold Medal at Kirstenbosch 2013; exhibited in the 14th International Exhibition at the Hunt.

Peta Stockton - see UK (she now lives in Kent)
Vicki Thomas ​
​born 1951, spent her youth in Zambia, started botanical art at the age of 27. Founder member (with three other artists) and past Chair of the Botanical Art Society of South Africa (BAASA). Gold medallist in Kirstenbosch Biennales; curator of 'PLANT' (the successor to the Kirstenbosch Biennale) in 2017. Contributing artist to the Florilegia for Highgrove, Transylvania and Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Currently co-ordinating the development of the Grootbos Florilegium (Wildflowers in the conservancy, South Africa). Teacher and mentor to most of the practising botanical artists in SA today.  Visiting lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch teaching scientific illustration. She has works in Shirley Sherwood's Collection and her work has been published in published in many scientific journals and books on botanical art including Curtis's Botanical Magazine and Flowering Plants of Africa.
Picture
Vicki Thomas - pictured with her painting of 'Leucospermum catherinae' at the PV for "Modern Masterpieces of Botanical Art" exhibition at the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at Kew Gardens
Margaret de Villiers 
In 2013 she won an RHS Gold Medal for her display of Cape Ericas and and Best Painting in the Show for Erica . She lives in Hermanus in South Africa. In 2016 she won a second Gold Medal for her paintings of the Fynbos Species of Cape Ericas. Her mission is to document the rare and endangered Ericas endemic to the Western Cape. (see photo above)
Margaret de Villiers
RHS Botanical Art Gold Medal awarded to Margaret de Villiers in 2013. Best Painting in Show awarded to Erica Bodkinii (next to Margeret). Copyright: images - Margaret de Villiers; photo - Katherine Tyrrell
Margaret de Villers at the 2016 RHS London Botanical Art Show
Margaret de Villers at the 2016 RHS London Botanical Art Show with her Gold Medal winning exhibit of Ericas of the Western Cape - Fynbos Species
Lynda de Wet 
Started botanical art in 1999  and lives in the Western Cape of South Africa. She won an RHS Gold Medal in 2013 for Parasitic plants in situ with the Host Plant which uses graphite for the environmental context and watercolour for the plant. (see photo below)
Lynda de Wet
Lynda de Wet with her RHS Gold Medal (2013) and two of her paintings - one of which was bought by the RHS Lindley Library
Parasitic plants in situ with the Host Plant by Lynda de Wet
Parasitic plants in situ with the Host Plant by Lynda de Wet. Note the size of the card for naming and explanatory narrative
See also my blog post about Selected Southern African Artists (Botanical Art Worldwide #9) 
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