Banksia speciosa
Drawing
1838 (painted)
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.
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
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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 |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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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 created | December 23, 2003 |
Record URL |
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