Augusta Innes Withers
Augusta Innes Withers | |
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Born | Augusta Hanna Elizabeth Innes Baker 1792 Gloucestershire, England |
Died | 1877 |
Nationality | English |
Occupation | Illustrator |
Spouse | Theodore Withers |
Augusta Hanna Elizabeth Innes Withers (
Family background
Augusta was the daughter of a
Career
Besides giving painting classes, she was active as a painter from before 1827 until 1865, exhibiting from 1829 to 1846 at the
John Claudius Loudon commented in the 1831 Gardener's Magazine that her talents were of the highest order, and that "to be able to draw flowers botanically, and fruit horticulturally, that is, with the characteristics by which varieties and subvarieties are distinguished, is one of the most useful accomplishments of your ladies of leisure, living in the country."[5]
In 1815, in an attempt to clarify the nomenclature of cultivated fruit varieties and reduce the number of synonyms in common use, William Jackson Hooker initiated a project of fruit drawings in watercolour stretching over 10 volumes. Suffering a stroke in 1820, Hooker was unable to finish the work. Four other artists, including Augusta Innes Withers and Barbara Cotton were commissioned to complete the work,[6] ironic since Withers had been refused a position as a botanical artist by Hooker's son, Joseph Dalton Hooker.[7]
Withers painted the 12 colour plates for Robert Thompson's The gardener's assistant.[8]
Legacy
Her drawings are stored at the Natural History Museum, London, at the Royal Horticultural Society, and at the Fitzwilliam Museum of the University of Cambridge.[9] There are a few of her letters at Windsor Castle.[10]
Illustrations
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Chysis laevis orchid
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Acineta barkeri orchid
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Oncidium incurvum orchid
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raspberry Barnet
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Allamanda Schottii
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Gompholobium splendens
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
References
- ^ 'Benezit Dictionary of British Graphic Artists and Illustrators', Volume 1 by Oxford University Press
- ^ "Theodore Gibson Withers". England Marriages, 1538–1973, familysearch.org.
- ^ Christopher Wood Gallery Archived November 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Society of Female Artists. First Exhibition. London, 1857; Society of Female Artists. Second Exhibition. London, 1858.
- ^ Leicester Galleries
- ^ Lindley Library Collections Archived May 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Florilegius[permanent dead link]
- ^ Thompson, Robert; Withers, Augusta Innes (1859). The gardener's assistant : practical and scientific ; a guide to the formation and management of the kitchen, fruit, and flower garden, and the cultivation of conservatory, green-house, and stove plants, with a copious calendar of gardening operations /. Vol. 1859. London: Blackie & Son.
- ISBN 9780415920407.
- ISBN 9781000162868.