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Margaret Stones (1920-2018) was born in Australia but spent much of her career in Britain.\u00a0 She was the principal contributing artist to Curtis\u2019s Botanical Magazine from 1958-1981 and illustrated three gardening books by the Scottish plant explorer E. U. M. Cox and his son Peter Cox in the 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0 She is perhaps most famous for illustrating the six-volume \u201cThe Endemic Flora of Tasmania\u201d published between 1967 and 1978.<\/p>\n
She came to America for the bicentennial celebration in 1976, when Louisiana State University commissioned her to illustrate the \u201cNative Flora of Louisiana.\u201d\u00a0 This project eventually included 200 watercolors of the native plants and wasn\u2019t completed until 1990.\u00a0 The stunning, folio size, limited edition book of these images only became available in 2018.<\/p>\n
Both of these massive endeavors are highlights of the Miller Library\u2019s botanical art book collection, with design and printing qualities much higher than the average flora.\u00a0 These are huge books: \u201cTasmania\u201d measuring 16\u201d high by 12\u201d wide and \u201cLouisiana\u201d just slightly smaller.\u00a0 This makes the detail and artistry especially vibrant.\u00a0\u00a0 Stones insisted on drawing from live specimens and would often seek examples in the wild.\u00a0 Other subjects were freshly picked plants flown from their source to her residence near Kew Gardens.<\/p>\n
Author Phillip Cribb wrote in her obituary for Curtis\u2019s Botanical Magazine (Volume 36, 2019): \u201cDuring her life, Margaret fought hard for botanical artists to receive the recognition and recompense that their work demanded.\u00a0 Her contemporaries revered her for her efforts to promote the discipline and the present generation of botanical artists, most who did not know her, have benefited from her determination.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Excerpted from the Winter 2021 issue of the Arboretum Bulletin<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Margaret Stones (1920-2018) was born in Australia but spent much of her career in Britain.\u00a0 She was the principal contributing artist to Curtis\u2019s Botanical Magazine from 1958-1981 and illustrated three gardening books by the Scottish plant explorer E. U. M. Cox and his son Peter Cox in the 1950s and 1960s.\u00a0 She is perhaps most famous for illustrating the six-volume \u201cThe Endemic Flora of Tasmania\u201d published between 1967 and 1978. She came to America for the bicentennial celebration in 1976,…<\/p>\n