Matilda Smith (1854-1926) did not have art training as a child, but she developed a keen interest in plants. It was helpful for this pursuit to be part of a botanically oriented family, including her second cousin Joseph Hooker, who was the second director of Kew Gardens.
Smith became good friends with Hooker, who was a skilled illustrator, and he both tutored and encouraged her in learning this skill. He recommended she submit drawings to “Curtis’s Botanical Magazine
.” This long-running periodical, started in 1787 and still published today, profiles new plant discoveries for both botanists and gardeners. This encouragement was well-placed as over the next 42 years, she contributed 2,300 drawings to this celebrated publication.
Hooker was also the editor of “Icones Plantarum,” another extensive publication of 40 volumes depicting plants drawn from herbarium specimens held by Kew. Smith was skilled at recreating the appearance of living plants despite the limitations of a dried, flattened subject and contributed 1,500 images to this publication. Although completed over 100 years ago, a facsimile copy in the Miller Library is still consulted on a regular basis by researchers.
Smith’s work included some of the first images in European science of the flora of New Zealand including this fern, Todea superba. Late in her career, she was the illustrator for “Illustrations of the New Zealand Flora” edited by Thomas Frederick Cheeseman, published in 1914. In his preface, the editor writes, “altogether, nearly five thousand of her drawings have actually appeared in various well-known publications. I think that all capable judges will agree with me in saying that the plates contained in these volumes will enhance her already well-earned reputation.”
Reviewed by: Brian Thompson on November 21, 2023
Excerpted from the Winter 2024 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin