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Banksia speciosa

Drawing
1838 (painted)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

We know very little about Samuel Holden. He was a prolific painter of exotic plants in the 1830s and 1840s. He studied most of them in the private collections of plant enthusiasts and collectors in Great Britain. He often inscribes his drawings with the names and addresses of these collections.

The Banksias are a group of plants of the Protea family, all originating in Australia. They are named in honour of the botanist Joseph Banks. Banks accompanied Captain James Cook on his expedition that reached the east coast of Australia in 1770. This particular variety of Banksia was first brought to Britain as a dried specimen in 1805 by Robert Brown, author of the definitive flora of Botany Bay.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Titles
  • Banksia speciosa (assigned by artist)
  • Showy Banksia (popular title)
  • Banksia Speciosa R.Br. (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Watercolour on paper
Brief description
Showy Banksia (Banksia speciosa R.Br.) by Samuel Holden (active 1830-50); watercolour; England; 1838
Physical description
Botanical study. Foliage of long horizontal spiked leaves are drawn in two tones with the fronts dark green and the backs of the leaves and stem a ligher shade of grey-green. The large oval shaped flower is yellow. The leaves are drawn cut off at the edges to give the impression of a close-up.
Dimensions
  • Height: 26cm
  • Width: 21cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • S. Holden. 1838. (Signature, ink, lower left centre)
  • Banksia speciosa (Ink, lower centre)
Gallery label
Samuel Holden active 1830-50 Showy Banksia (Banksia speciosa R.Br.) 1838 Holden seems to have specialised in the illustration of orchids and newly discovered exotic species. This particular variety of Banksia, a species of large shrub or small tree, was first brought to Britain as a dried specimen in 1805 by Robert Brown, author of the definitive flora of Botany Bay. England Watercolour V&A: 8377.9(2011)
Subjects depicted
Summary
We know very little about Samuel Holden. He was a prolific painter of exotic plants in the 1830s and 1840s. He studied most of them in the private collections of plant enthusiasts and collectors in Great Britain. He often inscribes his drawings with the names and addresses of these collections.

The Banksias are a group of plants of the Protea family, all originating in Australia. They are named in honour of the botanist Joseph Banks. Banks accompanied Captain James Cook on his expedition that reached the east coast of Australia in 1770. This particular variety of Banksia was first brought to Britain as a dried specimen in 1805 by Robert Brown, author of the definitive flora of Botany Bay.
Collection
Accession number
8377:9

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Record createdDecember 23, 2003
Record URL
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