Overview

'Art meets science' in this beautiful book that aims to give readers a sense of some contemporary scientific discoveries that are changing our understanding of plant relationships. 136 botanical paintings from the Shirley Sherwood Collection, by 84 artists, cover 50 orders of plants in 118 families, and a total of 133 species, providing a sweeping overview of the evolution of plants on earth. The paintings display a sampling of the plant world from fungi to daisies, including algae, mosses, ferns, conifers and flowering plants arranged in the most up to date evolutionary sequence, determined by recent DNA analysis. The text places each artist's observations as displayed in the paintings, in the context of modern plant classification, providing readers with a new understanding of the complex interrelationships between plant species, and enhancing their appreciation of the botanical artist's ability to portray the delicate beauty of nature. This publication is based on an exhibition in the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, running from August to December 2009, to celebrate Kew's 250th anniversary and Darwin's bicentenary.

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9781842464212

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A celebration of the marriage of plant evolution and art. Eighty-four artists depict in 136 paintings the botanical relationships between plant forms as identified by the most recent research, such as DNA sequencing. In the introduction, distinguished botanist W. John Kress analyzes these evolutionary relationships and the current classification of major plant groups. Art expert Shirley Sherwood describes the backgrounds of individual artists and the significance of each beautiful painting. --Chicago Botanic Garden.<br><br>--Marilyn K. Alaimo Chicago Botanic Garden

The Art of Plant Evolution showcases the extensive collection of plant paintings amassed by Sherwood and now displayed in rotation in the magnificent new Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The quality and quantity of the paintings takes one's breath away . . . The book, however, isn't just a selection of pretty paintings. . . . In a series of introductory chapters, the authors clearly and simply lay out the evidence on which our understanding of plant evolution is based. They talk about phylogenetics, the role of fossils in understanding patterns of evolution, and the coevolution of plants and animals. . . . The paintings themselves are stunning, a testament to the renaissance of botanical art. Most are contemporary and well illustrate that the art of beautifully depicting plants in a scientifically accurate way is far from dead. -- American Scientist<br><br> --Sandra Knapp American Scientist (11/01/2010)

"""A celebration of the marriage of plant evolution and art. Eighty-four artists depict in 136 paintings the botanical relationships between plant forms as identified by the most recent research, such as DNA sequencing. In the introduction, distinguished botanist W. John Kress analyzes these evolutionary relationships and the current classification of major plant groups. Art expert Shirley Sherwood describes the backgrounds of individual artists and the significance of each beautiful painting."" --Marilyn K. Alaimo ""Chicago Botanic Garden"" ""The Art of Plant Evolution showcases the extensive collection of plant paintings amassed by Sherwood and now displayed in rotation in the magnificent new Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The quality and quantity of the paintings takes one's breath away . . . The book, however, isn't just a selection of pretty paintings. . . . In a series of introductory chapters, the authors clearly and simply lay out the evidence on which our understanding of plant evolution is based. They talk about phylogenetics, the role of fossils in understanding patterns of evolution, and the coevolution of plants and animals. . . . The paintings themselves are stunning, a testament to the renaissance of botanical art. Most are contemporary and well illustrate that the art of beautifully depicting plants in a scientifically accurate way is far from dead.""--Sandra Knapp ""American Scientist"" (11/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)"

Author Information

John W. Kress is curator and research scientist at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Shirley Sherwood has been collecting contemporary botanical drawings for nearly twenty years; her collection is arguably the world's most important private collection of twentieth-century botanical art.

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