A passion for plants : contemporary botanical masterworks from the Shirley Sherwood collection /

A golden age of botanical art followed Europe's great voyages of discovery, but the creation and appreciation of botanicals languished during the twentieth century until its final years, when international interest in this distinctive art form was renewed almost single-handedly by Sherwood, whose personal collection of contemporary botanical art is considered the world's most comprehensive. This brilliantly produced monograph, Sherwood's reverent tribute to the rebirth of this precious art form, matches the best of modern botanical art against that of past masters with exquisite reproductions of more than 200 paintings by an impressive array of international talent. Renaissance artists intently recorded visions of nature never seen before; today's artists seek to capture botanical beauties threatened with extinction, chronicling life-forms that may never be seen again. Captivating and commanding, this opulent compilation superbly showcases vivid new interpretations of familiar subjects. --Carol Haggas

This stunning showcase of paintings by over 80 contemporary botanical artists from all over the world comes from Sherwood's own comprehensive collection; she acquired the works presented here since 1995. The paintings are beautifully reproduced, often with additional enlarged details, showing both their meticulous scientific detail and their dramatic beauty. An introductory section features both recent works and classic botanical paintings, showing how well recent works compare. The main section reproduces over 200 paintings, with a detailed discussion of each painting as well as biographical information about the artists and their working methods and Sherwood's personal relationship with them. An appendix provides smaller reproductions of more of her paintings and information about their artists. Sherwood also furnishes a list of all artists in her collection, an international directory of where to find botanical art, and classes and a schedule of her collection's future exhibits. Sherwood's 1996 work, Contemporary Botanical Artists: The Shirley Sherwood Collection, has become the standard reference work for botanical artists; this book will be an equally important purchase for both botanical and art collections. Marit MacArthur Taylor, Auraria Lib., Denver (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.