Picture Library Collections

The Lindley Library holds some 22,000 original botanical illustrations and a number of portraits of eminent figures from the horticultural world. In addition to these there are some paintings of garden scenes and an extensive historic collection of photographs from the Chelsea Flower Show and RHS London Shows.

Much of the drawings collection has been made up of donations and bequests, with the Library also purchasing or commissioning new works on an annual basis. The earliest drawings date back to the early 17th century with an album of plant portraits painted by Dutch artist Pieter van Kouwenhoorn.

Commissions

Foremost in the collection are works commissioned by the Society during the course of the last two centuries. William Hooker began a series of fruit drawings in watercolour in 10 volumes, in 1815. Unable to finish the commission due to ill health, Hooker painted the first seven volumes and four other artists, including Augusta Innes Withers and Barbara Cotton, were employed to continue the work. The project was intended to help reform the nomenclature of cultivated fruit varieties and reduce the number of synonyms in common use.

In 1897 the Society’s Orchid Committee hired a young artist named Nellie Roberts to paint any orchids that received awards at the Society’s shows. One hundred years and six artists later, there are now over 1,800 orchid paintings in the continually expanding collection.

Historic drawings

Other items in the picture collection include works by the following artists.

	Claude Aubriet (1665-1742) 673 ink drawings made to illustrate an intended book by Jussieu that was never published
	Georg Dionysius Ehret (1708-1770) A mixture of illustrations in watercolour on vellum and on paper from the collections of the third Earl of Bute and the second Duchess of Portland.
	Lilian Snelling (1879-1972) Snelling was probably the most important British botanical artist of the early 20th century. Among other titles she illustrated Curtis’s Botanical Magazine between 1922 and1952

Recent acquisitions

One of our recent acquisitions is an illustration of Pinus sylvestris by Kimiyo Maruyama, a Japanese artist who won an RHS Gold Medal at the November 2005 London Show.

Artist: Kimiyo Maruyama
Title of work: Pinus sylvestris
Date of acquisition: November 2005
Method of acquisition: Purchased from artist

Other recent acquisitions include:

Artist: Jean Emmons
Title of work: Iris ‘With This Ring’
Date of acquisition: June 2005
Method of acquisition: Purchased from artist

Artist: Anna Paoletto
Title of work: ‘Louise Bonne’ Pear
Date of acquisition: July 2004
Method of acquisition: Purchased from artist

Artist: Kate Nessler (2003)
Title of work: Hollyhocks no.1
Date of acquisition: February 2004
Method of acquisition: Purchased from artist

Artist: Graham Stuart Thomas (1909-2003)
Title of work: Rose cultivars
Date of acquisition: April 2003
Method of acquisition: Bequest

Information on how to exhibit art works at RHS shows is available by clicking here or by contacting Annika Erikson Browne, Picture Committee Secretary.