MARIANNE NORTH A Very Intrepid Painter
By Michelle Payne
MARIANNE NORTH was an English naturalist and remarkable botanical artist who traveled to more than a dozen countries in the course of more than a decade spent painting the tropical and exotic plants of the world. Despite having no formal artistic training and a rather unconventional technique, North documented her subjects in situ with a scientific accuracy that continues to impress botanists today. More than eight hundred of her detailed, brightly colored paintings are displayed in Kew’s Marianne North Gallery, which was built under her patronage and opened in 1882.
Fully illustrated and including a stunning eight-page fold-out, Marianne North: A Very Intrepid Painter provides an overview of North's spirited work, life, and travels as well as a concise history of the popular gallery—newly restored and refurbished—where almost all her paintings hang. The Marianne North Gallery is among Kew’s finest attractions, and this exquisite volume captures its magic to perfection.
Michelle Payne holds an MA in twentieth-century literature awarded by Goldsmiths College, University of London. She is a production editor at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Distributed by the University of Chicago Press
Publication Date: May 1, 2011
96 pages, 130 color plates
978-1-84246-430-4 - $17.00 - paper
