Exploring the life and art of Marianne North; Victorian traveller and collector, whose work can be found at Kew.
With such as Edward Lear, Charles Darwin and Joseph Hooker, all part of her literary and botanical circle how could this Victorian lady be considered other than unconventional for her time? She travelled and collected, painted and drew exotic plants in distant landscapes. She was said to travel with the 'liberty of a wild bird', yet she maintained the dress and manners of a Victorian lady. The pursuit of plants took her round the world whilst her vibrant oil paintings of these exotic plants and distant landscapes were destined for Kew. This lecture explores Marianne North's work, her social context and the eventual creation of her gallery at The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Image: By Marianne North - Scanned from: Phillips, A., A. Lamb & C.C. Lee 2008. Pitcher Plants of Borneo. Second Edition. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3353798
THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER
Dr Twigs Way
Twigs Way is a professional researcher and writer fascinated by the past and intrigued by the role of flowers, gardens and landscape in art and culture of all kinds.
Her work explores themes of symbolism and meaning, class and gender, art and literature...and she enjoys following lesser known paths in garden history towards the unexpected. Her original work was on the history of women in the garden and she retains an active research interest in this topic.
Recent publications include the art and culture of specific flowers including the carnation and the daffodil and her book on the Chrysanthemum in Art and Culture was published October 2020 by Reaktion Press, and she is currently working on the Daffodil in art and culture.
Twigs Way
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