The Art of Botanical Illustration

The Art of Botanical Illustration Comprehensive is a very readable historical and artistic survey of botanical illustration. First published in 1950, this classic is still considered the definitive work on the subject. The book was revised and enlarged by ACC in 2000; this is a reprint of that edition. It provides a comprehensive, critical and well-illustrated survey of the portrayal of plants through more than three thousand years.

Of the first edition, the poet and gardening writer, Vita Sackville-West, after referring in The Observer to the wealth of illustration and the fascination of the text, then said, “Let no one think this is a book only for the specialist. It is essential for the specialist, certainly, but it is also for all the flower-lovers and all those who enjoy the by-ways of biography and the added attraction of good writing”.

Wilfrid Blunt, an artist himself, brought to it a craftsman’s appreciation and knowledge gained from experience, the extensive literature and visits to many galleries on the Continent. William T. Stearn gave him much help on botanical, biographical and bibliographical matters and contributed part of the text.

Professor Stearn has revised and enlarged this classic work and greatly extended the chapter on the twentieth century. This edition includes 126 colour plates (more than twice as many as the original 1950 edition) and 140 black and white illustrations, thus making available to the general public numerous examples of the work of great botanical illustrators past and present.