“There is no record so true as the good photographic study; as we see the conditions of plant life eternally changing everywhere, the value of these permanent authentic records to future generations cannot be overestimated.” — Edwin Hale Lincoln, 1916

Photographs of daisies, lilies, ferns, milkweed and other plants welcome visitors to Wild Flowers of New England. The exhibit at the Boston Athenaeum, 10 1/2 Beacon Street in Boston, is on view now through September 5. Centering around the work of Massachusetts-based photographer Edwin Hale Lincoln, this exhibition explores his photographic effort to document and preserve New England’s wildflowers.

Over three decades, Lincoln explored the forests around his Berkshire home, studying the lives of native wildflowers, and photographing the plants in his studio. Lincoln created a unique photographic language, blending scientific specificity and artistic expression, producing portraits that celebrate the ephemeral beauty of native plants.

Wild Flowers of New England places Lincoln’s work in conversation with botanical printers and photographers of the past and present and contextualizes his practice within larger preservationist movements. Through Lincoln’s lens, visitors will see the timeless allure of New England’s wildflowers and the enduring power of botanical artistry.