INTRODUCTION

Botanical art is the visual representation and description of the natural world of plants in a scientifically accurate and aesthetically pleasing manner. The artistic styles of illustration, drawing, and painting, traditional to botanical art, are combined with keen observation and great patience to create naturalistic plant images. Characteristic of botanical art is the realistic rendering of plants by accurately depicting the details of plant structures and creating form and depth through variations in value.

This exhibit of botanical art presents examples of engravings, lithographs, illustrations, drawings, and paintings of Sonoran Desert plants from the past to the present. Past botanical art is displayed within the historical context of both the Sonoran Desert Region and botanical art in general.

The exhibit begins begins with the oldest historial works and continues through to the present with illustrations from current projects involving botanical art. It concludes with original works created by contemporary artists that have been juried into the exhibit.

As botanical artists we are hopeful that the knowledge communicated through our work will serve as a significant catalyst to the conservation and protection of our flora in all its complexity for generations to come.


supplemental artwork used in the web installation

Works included in the 2013 exhibition have been supplemented with additional images throughout the online exhibit for the purpose of illustrating historical narratives. Credits and citations for these works appear at the bottom of the pages where the images appear. Works that appeared in the exhibition are indicated by exhibit numbers.