Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation

The Hunt Institute Archives holds a collection of over 32,000 portraits of persons related to the botanical sciences. These portraits range from engravings to paintings to photographs, documenting individuals who lived from about 350 B.C.E. to the present. We are happy to announce that this collection, previously included in our Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography, is now searchable through its own database, the Register of Botanical Iconography. The new database makes it easy to explore the collection and find the portraits you need. Larger previews of the portraits aid in locating the right image for your research or project, all in a streamlined and user-friendly interface.

We continue digitizing and uploading portraits and portrait information to the database. If there is a portrait that you wish to see that has not been digitized, please contact the Archivist to have the portrait scanned and uploaded.

The biographical information in the Register of Botanical Biography and Iconography will move to its own database soon. Development of that and other databases is ongoing. Watch our announcements for future database news.

Our portrait collection exists due to the generosity and cooperation of hundreds of individuals and institutions. If you have pictures of a botanist, horticulturalist, taxonomist or any other individual connected to the botanical sciences or botanical history, please consider donating the portrait to our collection. It is kept in archival storage and accessible by appointment. We are grateful to our past donors and look forward to working with more in the future.