What We Collect: Three Major Gifts

Past Exhibitions

6 April – 30 June 2023

The third in our series celebrating recent acquisitions, this exhibition featured major gifts by Francesca Anderson, Patricia Margaret Calhoun Rennie and John Wilkinson. The three artists have been in our International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration series, and the donated artworks included pieces created before the Institute was founded through 2022. Some of these artworks were created for a specific publication, some were preparatory or field sketches and some were prepared for exhibition, but none had been exhibited before at the Hunt Institute. Whether working alongside botanists for scientific and horticultural publications or preparing artworks for collectors, galleries or commercial use, artists throughout the centuries have added their individual perspectives to portraying plants and have made lasting contributions to the botanical record and the history of art. This selection of recent major gifts to the Art Department of the Hunt Institute represents our commitment to building lifelong relationships with botanical artists.

In June 2021 Francesca Anderson (1946–) donated 24 of her quill pen-and-ink drawings on Strathmore paper that were created between 1989 and 1993. The subjects included bulb plants, such as species of tulips and crocus, narcissus, lily of the valley, pineapple lily and 12 amaryllis. Included in the group of amaryllis were 6 of the 8 pen-and-ink drawings exhibited and awarded a gold medal by the Royal Horticultural Society, 24–25 January 1995. Anderson's drawing of globe cabbage was included in our 7th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (1992).

In spring 2022 Patricia Margaret Calhoun (Watson) Rennie (1931–) donated 127 artworks, including watercolors, pencil drawings, pen-and-ink illustrations and metalpoint. These artworks covered a broad range of her career, spanning across decades and continents, including works created in the United States, Greece and her home country of England. Also included were several field drawings and preparatory sketches. She had four watercolor paintings included in our Contemporary Botanical Art and Illustration (1st International, 1964).

In summer 2022 John Wilkinson (1934–) donated 75 watercolor paintings. This gift included 18 paintings of various subjects for which he is well known, including several mushrooms, as well as flowering plants. Additionally, he donated 57 watercolor illustrations representing the entirety of his work for the Collins Handguide to the Butterflies and Moths of Britain and Europe (1980). We were privileged to add this complete set of illustrations to our collection, which already included his illustrations for the Collins Handguide to the Trees of Britain and Northern Europe (1978) and Collins Gem Guides, Mushrooms and Toadstools (1982). He had two watercolor paintings included in our 5th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (1983).

Reception

The reception on 6 April (5:00–7:00 p.m.) was open to the public. At 5:30 p.m. in the gallery the curator introduced the exhibition and artist Francesca Anderson, who was able to attend.

<p>Spread No. 7; Nymphalidae; Vanessa atalanta; Vanessa cardui; Polygona c-album, watercolor on paper by John Wilkinson (1934–), 1975, 32 × 36.5 cm, for his and Michael Willmer Forbes Tweedie (1907–1993), <em>Collins Handguide to the Butterflies and Moths of Britain and Europe</em> (London, Collins, 1980, pp. 34–35), HI Art accession no. 8560.16, reproduced by permission of the artist.</p>

Spread No. 7; Nymphalidae; Vanessa atalanta; Vanessa cardui; Polygona c-album, watercolor on paper by John Wilkinson (1934–), 1975, 32 × 36.5 cm, for his and Michael Willmer Forbes Tweedie (1907–1993), Collins Handguide to the Butterflies and Moths of Britain and Europe (London, Collins, 1980, pp. 34–35), HI Art accession no. 8560.16, reproduced by permission of the artist.

Selected Artworks

[+] Click to enlarge