A collection of 38 flower drawings created by the esteemed botanical artist, Simon Taylor, holds vital historical significance for the development of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London. Sadly, these invaluable drawings are now at risk of leaving Britain, as announced by officials from Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport. (Photo courtesy of Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
July 14 (UPI) — Officials have declared that the 38 flower drawings, crafted by the renowned botanical artist Simon Taylor, which played a significant role in the establishment of the world-famous Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in London, may soon be relocated outside of Britain.
In an official news release, Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport disclosed their endeavors to find a domestic buyer for these exquisite drawings. With an estimated value of $23,165, these artworks have been subjected to an export bar by Stephen Parkinson, Britain’s Minister of Arts and Heritage, due to their immense academic and cultural importance.
These watercolor drawings are meticulously painted on vellum and are contained within a single folio measuring slightly under 18 by 24 inches. Although unsigned and undated, the pages bear the Latin binomial names of the depicted plant subjects, written in ink. Originally, they were part of a collection of 15 volumes with nearly 700 paintings, which has since been dispersed.
Sotheby’s, a renowned auction house, provided a description of the folio, highlighting “occasional light spotting, a few sheets of vellum coming loose from paper backing, small scratches to covers, some wear and scuffs to spine.”
Nevertheless, these drawings have been acclaimed as “highly significant” in the efforts of John Stuart, King George III’s tutor and later Prime Minister of Great Britain, to shape the Kew Gardens. They serve as a valuable record of the plants found within the gardens before the involvement of Joseph Banks, the first unofficial director of the prestigious establishment.
Peter Barber, a member of the committee tasked with evaluating the potential export of these documents, remarked, “Very little survives to show what plants were originally to be found in the Gardens.” He continued, “An opportunity has now arisen to save some precious depictions of these plants for the nation.”
The detailed provenance of how the drawings changed hands throughout history is available for interested buyers to explore.
Barber added, “Taylor’s 38 finely executed watercolors, commissioned by Lord Bute, are much more than merely pretty pictures. They have the potential to add significantly to our knowledge of Kew in its earliest days. I hope they can find a home in this country where they can most easily and appropriately be studied and enjoyed, and perhaps be joined in the future by more volumes, or at least watercolors, as they emerge.”
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