‘Florilegium: Sydney’s Painted Garden’, a new exhibition at Museum of Sydney showcasing a collection of contemporary botanical paintings that illustrate some of the most significant plants in the living collections of the Royal Botanic Garden & Domain Trust. Over 80 paintings from more than 60 international and Australian artists are featured. From the Norfolk Island Pine, sighted by Captain Cook in 1774 and planted by Lachlan Macquarie in the Gardens in 1814, to the prehistoric Wollemi Pine, only discovered in 1994 and planted in 1998, the paintings provide a detailed account of the diversity of plants grown in the botanic gardens – from indigenous Australian plants and common garden flowers as well as more unfamiliar exotic species from Asia, the Americas, Africa and Europe.
Visitors to ‘Florilegium’ can see some of the botanical artists at work with demonstrations inside the exhibition space on the first and third Sunday of the month from August through October. Talk with an artist from The Florilegium Society as they demonstrate the steady hand required to produce the detailed botanical illustrations. Artists include Beverly Allen, Tanya Hoolihan, Angela Lober, Lesley Elkan and Annie Hughes.
Museum of Sydney
Until 30 October, 2016
Sydney
Elizabeth Mahar, Angiopterus evecta (Giant fern), 2015
Courtesy the artist and The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust
