Marianne North

Have you heard of Marianne North?

She was a Victorian botanical artist and amateur botanist who travelled independently around the world to paint exotic flora in their natural surroundings. She discovered plants unknown to science, including famously a pitcher plant from Borneo, and some of these plant species were named after her in honour of her scientific contribution.

She painted over 800 works from 6 continents always in vivid and bold colours often sketching out her works in ink before applying oils. She had a restricted palette due to her travels, rarely using black which showed in the vibrancy of her compositions. Through her art, she brought a new understanding and wonder of the natural world. Her legacy of hundreds of works are still on display to this day at the North Gallery in Kew Gardens.