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Wild Flowers of North America

Botanical Illustrations by Mary Vaux Walcott

Edited by Pamela Henson

Hardcover

$65.00 US

Prestel Publishing | Prestel

9.6"W x 12.8"H x 1.1"D | 79 oz | 5 per carton

On sale Oct 11, 2022 | 336 Pages | 978-3-7913-8889-2

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Now available in a new, large single volume with an appendix also listing the modern plant names, this classic collection by “the Audubon of botany” features more than 250 exquisite reproductions of Walcott’s celebrated watercolors of wildflower life in the United States of America and Canada.

Published in association with the Smithsonian Institution

What does it take to paint a wildflower that blooms for a single day in a deep forest? For Mary Vaux Walcott, it involved spending up to seventeen hours a day out of doors with her paintbox to capture the shape, movement, and colors of delicate petals and leaves.

Originally published in 1925 to enormous acclaim in five, oversized volumes, Walcott’s sketches introduced the diversity and beauty of North American plants to the general public. A selection of some of the most stunning illustrations are now available in a single volume, these illustrations have lost none of their beauty or realism.

Walcott’s technique involved precise attention to detail, color, light, and perspective. Her art can also be appreciated as the work of a woman scientist battling the prejudices against her sex of the day. She was an intrepid explorer, skilled geologist, and generous benefactor to the Smithsonian Institution at a time when women’s accomplishments were often overlooked or misattributed.

As inspirational and informative as they are a pleasure for the eyes, this bouquet of nature’s fleeting gifts is a lasting treasure of botanic and scientific artistry.

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February 19 2024

Florals? For Spring? Groundbreaking.

Though Miranda Priestly may disapprove, we think there truly is no better time to celebrate the natural beauty of Earth’s bounty than spring! Blooming flowers in a rainbow of colors are the ultimate mood lifter to shake off the winter gloom. Whether you’re tending to your own blossoms in a flowerbed or on a window