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by Maureen Horn, Librarian, Massachusetts Horticulture Society, via email from Danielle Rudeen, The Huntington, posted by Deb Shaw
“Cereus lemoinei,” by Mrs. William Duffield, 1892. Massachusetts Horticultural Society Library, Box 9, Repros (shelf locator). Gift of Mrs. Fiske Warren, March, 1943. Permalink: http://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/0p097c160 This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License (CC BY-NC-ND).
The Massachusetts Horticulture Society has announced that its botanical print collection has been digitized at the Boston Public Library and is ready to be viewed online.
The digitizing and posting of the collection is the culmination of three months of collaboration between the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, the Boston Public Library, and Digital Commonwealth. More than 1,000 rare images from the oldest horticultural library in the nation are now available for viewing and use by members, scholars, historians, artists and the general public.
Mass Hort’s Botanical Print Collection contains more than three centuries of botanical illustration, dating from 1620 to 1969, offering an invaluable resource. Artists and the public can explore images that until now have been seen only by experts.
Tom Blake, Digital Projects Manager, Boston Public Library, commented that “Digital Commonwealth enables Massachusetts cultural institutions to develop a virtual presence, enhancing education and research by creating a community of support, offering professional advice, and facilitating collaboration. The Digital Commonwealth portal facilitates worldwide access to the cultural heritage of Massachusetts. Our repository provides an affordable option to organizations that are unable to host one locally.”
The Horticultural Library at Massachusetts Horticultural Society was the first in the United States. It was established soon after the Society was founded in 1829 to share horticulture knowledge and beauty through its prints, books, extensive collection of seed catalogs, and other rare materials.
Noticing an interest in botanical prints, the Society mounted its first major exhibit in 1968. It continued with another exhibition in 1969, when a group of lily prints was shown to the North American Lily Society at its annual meeting.
Today, digitization and online access to special collections is an important strategy for any cultural heritage organization. With the help of Digital Commonwealth, Mass Hort’s Library will meet the 21st Century digital needs of students, researchers, authors and the public.
Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s botanical prints are available online at the Digital Commonwealth repository at https://www.digitalcommonwealth.org/collections/commonwealth:k930hm897 . These images are available for the purposes of viewing and studying and not for commercial use.
Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Library collection includes more than 20,000 volumes at their library in the Education Center of the Elm Bank horticulture center and gardens. Additionally, the Society maintains 5,000 rare books, manuscripts, prints, seed catalogs, glass slides, and early transactions of horticultural institutions at a separate archival storage facility.
Many of the books transferred to the Chicago Botanical Garden’s Lenhardt Library Rare Book Collection in the early 2000’s by Mass Hort are now available online through the Illinois Digital Archives at http://www.idaillinois.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/ncbglib01; search on “Massachusetts Horticultural Society.”
by Deb Shaw
Image Credit: Detail, Sebastian Lopez de Arteaga, St. Michael and the Bull, c. 1650. Denver Art Museum Collection: Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 1994.27.
BAGSC member Deborah Shaw will be teaching a two-part introductory workshop at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Saturday, December 12 and Sunday, December 13, 2015, 11:30 am – 1:30 pm, “What’s Cool (and Warm) about Red: Color Mixing in Watercolor.”
Taught in conjunction with the exhibition “The Red that Colored the World,” this consecutive two-day workshop will use the flowers and fruits of the season as the basis for learning to mix a full spectrum of reds, both warm and cool. Delve into warm, fiery reds the first day, and cool, velvety reds the next. Explore transparency, undercolor painting and palette mixing. Suitable for beginners to advanced artists.
Location: John M. Lee Court in Bowers Museum
Price: Member $24 | General $30 | Students $20 with valid I.D.
Materials provided with a $15.00 materials fee payable to the instructor the day of class, and/or feel free to bring your own favorite materials.
Proceeds benefit Bowers Museum Education Programs. Tickets are non-refundable, may be purchased online or onsite. Questions? Contact Bowers by email or by calling 714.567.3677.
The exhibition, “The Red that Colored the World,” traces the history of cochineal and the seductive visual nature of red. It explores the quest for the perfect, vibrant red, which culminated in the Aztec marketplace of 16th-century Mexico, where Spanish explorers first encountered the American cochineal bug. More than 100 objects, which have all been tested to ensure they contain cochineal, come from all over the globe, and include textiles, sculpture, paintings, manuscripts, decorative arts, clothing and more. The exhibition was organized by the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, and made possible by the generous support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and circulating through GuestCurator Traveling Exhibitions. Articles about the exhibition can be found on the Bowers Museum site, including coverage by the PBS NewsHour.
Bowers Museum is located at: 2002 North Main Street, Santa Ana, California 92706, 714.567.3600.
http://www.bowers.org
Deborah Shaw has a degree in fine art from Pomona College, The Claremont Colleges, where she also studied botany and native California flora. Ms. Shaw is an active member of the American Society of Botanical Artists, the Botanical Artists Guild of Southern California, and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, and has taught art and botanical art at numerous venues, including The Getty, Virginia Robinson Gardens and Bowers Museum.
Deborah’s work has been displayed in juried and non-juried exhibitions, and is in private collections. Her work is in the permanent collection at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University and other institutions. She has received numerous awards for art, illustration, design, product design and advertising. Her preferred media include graphite, watercolor, colored pencil, scratchboard, Illustrator and Photoshop.
by Clara Josephs and Deb Shaw
BAGSC members should have received an email blast with the election information and details about the BAGSC annual holiday party and annual meeting, coming up on December 5, 2015 at Janice’s lovely home. Festivities begin at 5pm. Spouses, family members, and friends are welcome! Please RSVP to Janice’s, and let her know what you will be bringing to add to the groaning table!
Results of the election of board members and known workshops and exhibitions for next year will be announced during the brief business portion of the evening. Please carpool if possible.
BAGSC fund-raiser
As usual, we will be having a silent auction to raise money for BAGSC and the wonderful events on the horizon for next year. Bring extra books, catalogues, art supplies and other fun or silly items you think BAGSC members might enjoy bidding on and taking home.
Email Kat, with what you would like to bring, so we can have the correct number of forms on hand. If you want to list your item(s) and a base value to start the bidding, that’s fine too, but not required. If you find items at the last minute, go ahead and bring those too. We’ll have some extra forms available for those last minute discoveries as we’re all cleaning up for the holidays.
Bring your artwork too
We love looking at what everyone has been working on. Bring your artwork to share.
Make it a weekend?
Extend the celebration by staying overnight in Pasadena and avoid driving home in the dark. There’s a lot to do on Sunday in Pasadena:
- The Norton Simon opens at 11 am. Adult admission is $12.
- Vroman’s, Southern California’s oldest and largest independent book store, opens at 10 am.
- From downtown Pasadena, it’s about 15 minutes to Descanso Gardens.
- And, of course, there’s the LA Arboretum and The Huntington and more.
Where to stay Saturday night?
Don’t want to drive home late?
The Saga Motor Hotel hosted our guests for the Weird, Wild & Wonderful Symposium at The Huntington, and they have a special BASGC rate for Saturday night of $69 for single occupancy, or share a room with a buddy for $76 double occupancy. Rooms are limited. Be sure to ask for the BAGSC rate. Call them at 626 795-0431.
The Westin Hotel—just opposite City Hall—is quoting rates of $159 for a traditional-sized room with king bed. Better rates may be available through Expedia.
The Langham Hotel in San Marino has patio king rooms available for $390 inclusive of tax, which includes breakfast and valet parking.
These rates can change or become unavailable when rooms fill, so it’s best to book as soon as possible.
Why not consider sharing a room with a BAGSC buddy?
Looking forward to seeing everyone on December 5!
Arillyn Moran-Lawrence, posted by Deb Shaw
“Elegant Syrah,” © 2015, Arillyn Moran-Lawrence. Pen and ink, 13-1/2″ x 19″. All rights reserved.
“Elegant Syrah” is a pen and ink drawing of grapes from a Temecula vineyard. I found this interesting group of grapes on the vine at the Callaway Winery. I liked the way the grapes were embraced by the leaves. I sketched and photographed them and made some color swatches as I hadn’t decided which media I would use.
Francesca Anderson’s pen and ink work has always fascinated me so I decided that I would use pen and ink. I began with stippling on the grapes and had to decide to make each grape unique in some very small way so that I could happily reach the end of my work.
I entered “Elegant Syrah” In the 119th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club. I worked for 10 years to finally qualify to be a full member of the club and have now been a member of the group for many years.
The Exhibition at the historic landmark National Arts Club in Manhattan”s Gramercy Park is the club’s major event. $8,000.00 in awards are given. A Metropolitan curator also serves on the jury of awards.
A Preview Reception benefits a travel fund for curators from the Metropolitan to research collections across the country.
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe was a philanthropist and art collector who was the only woman in the group of men who founded the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Catharine Lorillard Wolfe was the first woman to be on the board of of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Art Club with her name was established in 1896, to aid women and to counsel and help them exhibit their art. Now the club reflects the members’ professional standing and interests. For more information on the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, please see their website.
The National Arts Club is an historic private club in Gramercy Park, Manhattan. It is a National Historic Landmark.
BAGSC News 