Boston Flora

Tag: Smithsonian Institution

  • Thursday, September 20, 6:00 pm – Breakpoint: Reckoning with America’s Environmental Crises

    Jeremy Jackson, Emeritus Professor of Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Senior Scientist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution, will speak on Thursday, September 20 at 6 pm in a program sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with the Harvard University Center for the Environment. The venue will be announced – check at https://hmnh.harvard.edu/event/breakpoint for updated information.

    Mounting environmental crises—extreme weather events, uncontrollable fires, rising sea levels, droughts, and unsustainable agriculture—are pushing America toward a series of alarming environmental and economic breaking points. Jeremy Jackson will examine the country’s current environmental destruction and highlight both successful and failed attempts by communities to achieve greater environmental stability. With a call to action, he will offer achievable solutions—and optimism—for tackling this multidimensional challenge.

    The free presentation will be followed by a discussion with Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School; John Holdren, Harvard Kennedy School; and Daniel Schrag, Harvard University Center for the Environment. Free parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage

    Breakpoint with speaker Jeremy Jackson

  • Friday, May 11 – Sunday, July 22, Opening Reception Saturday, May 19, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm – Impressions of Woody Plants: Disjunction, Two Artists, and the Arnold Arboretum

    The word disjunction, defined as the relationship between two distinct alternatives, can be applied to botanical artists Bobbi Angell and Beverly Duncan: their media–copper and watercolor, their plant focuses–exotic and native, their backgrounds–botany and art. In the end though, as in this Arnold Arboretum exhibition, it is all about the wonder of woody plants, and the artists’ approaches to creating images. Angell is attracted to unusual, cultivated specimens due to her long history working with botanists and horticulturalists. Her subjects, all Asian natives, several of which were introduced into cultivation by the Arboretum, represent the remarkable history of plant collecting around the world. All can be found in the collections of the Arboretum. Her drawings are developed into finely crafted copper etchings, which are then printed in limited editions. Duncan is drawn to the familiarity of native plants. She translates the common and recognizable into intimate portraits in detailed watercolor paintings.Her sketches capture the various stages in the life of a native plant. For this exhibition, Duncan focused on paintings of seedlings, the delicate early life of a tree or shrub. All her subjects can also be found as mature trees on the grounds of the Arnold Arboretum. Bobbi Angell has been drawing plants since 1978, illustrating floras, monographs, and new species for botanists at The New York Botanical Garden, Harvard University, and Smithsonian Institution. Drawing herbarium specimens has been the focus of her work. Angell’s copper plate etchings reflect her interest in fine detail. They have allowed her a satisfying and natural extension of her compositional style. Beverly Duncan is an award-winning botanical artist, the first to receive Best in Show at the annual exhibition of the Horticultural Society in New York and the American Society of Botanical Artists. Her work is in corporate and private collections around the world. Duncan exhibited and received recognition at the 2014 royal Horticultural Exhibit in London. She teaches Botanical Drawing and Painting classes, and has illustrated commissions for numerous books and magazines.

    The exhibit runs from May 11 – July 22, with an opening reception Saturday, May 19 from 1 – 3. There will also be a workshop with the artists on Saturday, June 9 from 1 – 3. Note – The Hunnewell lecture hall is used for programs, classes, and other events. Please call 617 384-5209 for accessibility. Free, no registration required.

    Image result for Bobbi Angell art

  • Sunday, January 17, 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm – The Curious and Mysterious Mr. Catesby

    On Sunday January 17, at Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, learn about North America’s first naturalist, English-born Mark Catesby (1683-1749), who published an early account of the New World’s flora and fauna titled Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands. The program, free with admission to the garden, will take place at 1 pm. Leslie Overstreet, the Smithsonian Institutions’s Curator of Natural History Rare Books, has authored papers on early books in the natural sciences in the Archives of Natural History and contributed chapters entitled Priority! The dating of scientific names in ornithology (2011) and Gardening by the book (2013). Her primary research has focused for many years on the printing of Mark Catesby’s book.  She served as a consultant to the documentary film The Curious Mr. Catesby, produced by the Catesby Commemorative Trust and broadcast on public-television stations across the U.S. in 2009. The preliminary results of her research on Catesby’s book have now been published in The Curious Mr. Catesby (2015).

  • Thursday and Friday, August 21 and 22, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Watercolor Painting with Carol Woodin

    Gain confidence and comfort in this two day Berkshire Botanical Garden class devoted to techniques of botanical painting in watercolor. Using flowers as subjects, students will learn to capture the vitality and drama of these flowers. After creating a base watercolor layer for guidance, artists will add a series of dry-brush layers, gradually increasing color intensity and form. Through demonstration and individualized attention, the instructor will guide students through mixing believable greens and maintaining color clarity. By the end of the class, each student will have a painting either finished or nearly so. The class will be taught by Carol Woodin on August 21 and 22 from 10 – 4, and the cost is $260 for BBG members, $290 for nonmembers. Registration and a materials list may be found at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ai1ec_event/botanical-watercolor-painting-with-carol-woodin/?instance_id=2605.

    Carol Woodin has been painting botanicals in watercolor for over 20 years. Her focus is orchids, rare plants and heirlooms. Her work is included in collections around the world, including those of the Smithsonian Institution, Shirley Sherwood Collection and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. Director of Exhibitions for the American Society of Botanical Artists, she has organized exhibitions of botanical art throughout the US.

    http://d2918aghi3b457.cloudfront.net//srv/htdocs/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/tam_may10_floral4.jpg

  • Thursday, August 22 – Friday, August 23, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm – Botanical Painting with Watercolor Master Class with Carol Woodin

    Gain confidence and comfort in this Berkshire Botanical Garden class devoted to techniques of botanical painting in watercolor. Using anemones as subjects, students will learn to capture the vitality and drama of these flowers. After creating a base watercolor layer for guidance, artists will add a series of dry-brush layers, gradually increasing color intensity and form. Through demonstration and individualized attention, the instructor will guide students through mixing believable greens and maintaining color clarity.By the end of the class, each student will have a painting either finished or nearly so. Click here for Materials List.

    Carol Woodin has been painting botanicals in watercolor for over 20 years. Her focus is orchids, rare plants and heirlooms. Her work is included in collections around the world, including those of the Smithsonian Institution, Shirley Sherwood Collection and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK. Director of Exhibitions for the American Society of Botanical Artists, she has organized exhibitions of botanical art throughout the US.

    This is a two-day course, August 22 and 23, 10 – 4. BBG members $260, nonmembers $290. Register on line at www.berkshirebotanical.org, or call 413-298-3926.

    http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4006/4667485611_72e01c7e76.jpg

  • Saturday, September 25 – Sunday, September 26,8:00 am – 5:30 pm – What’s Out There Weekend

    This September 25 and 26  in Washington, D.C., The Cultural Landscape Foundation will hold What’s Out There Weekend—the prototype for an annual, nationwide series of interpretive tours that focus attention on our country’s rich and diverse heritage of designed landscapes. The public will be able to visit any or all of 25 sites around Washington, D.C., to get free tours from expert guides.

    The goal of the weekend’s activities is to raise awareness about the importance of Washington, D.C.’s astonishing and diverse historic designed landscape heritage and to educate the public about the individuals who designed them and the unique narratives behind their creation, ongoing care, and management. The landscapes span over 200 years of design, from L’Enfant’s Plan for the city to Dan Kiley’s plaza at the National Gallery of Art. Throughout the weekend there will be public guided tours, including a unique event at the U.S. Capitol Grounds; an insider’s view of some of Northwest D.C.’s most prominent estate landscapes and an introduction to Congressional Cemetery, one of our nation’s oldest designed cemeteries. TCLF’s What’s Out There Weekend partners, the National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation, will support sites all over the city, from the National Mall to Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens.

    The What’s Out There Weekend initiative dovetails with the web-based What’s Out There, the first searchable database of the nation’s designed landscapes. What’s Out There Weekend extends the focus of the What’s Out There database, by creating a rich series of inspiring and educational events.

    TCLF is proud to have the support of the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, Dumbarton Oaks, and the Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation in hosting this first What’s Out There Weekend. TCLF also wishes to thank our Media Partner, Room & Board, and PNC Bank for their support.  For a complete list of sites, and registration information, log on to www.tclf.org.

    Washington DC

  • The Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens

    The Smithsonian Institution’s Archives of American Gardens needs your help!

    The Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens needs help identifying select images from its collection that depict locations in Boston. Below is a link to the Smithsonian’s online cataloging system, SIRIS, that includes eight unidentified Boston images from the early twentieth century.

    http://collections.si.edu/search/results.jsp?q=%22unidentified+garden+boston%22&view=grid&start=0

    Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the images. Click on the underlined caption for additional information in the catalog. If you are able to identify any of the properties’ owners and/or street addresses, please contact marieke@bostonhistory.org.