Collecting Ladies, Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists

by Penny Olsen

Around 1870, Ferdinand von Mueller, the greatest Australian botanist of the nineteenth century, began to advertise in several newspapers across Australia for lady plant collectors. This was at a time when women typically had little recourse to science, or contact with men outside their circle of friends, making Muellers network of ladies quite extraordinary. Collecting Ladies profiles 14 of Muellers coterie of women collectors. Included are Fanny Charsley, Louisa Atkinson, Annie Walker and Ellis Rowan for whom Mueller made time to assist in pursuit of their own passions. He identified the plants they painted and provided letters of introduction to publishers and scientists. Together, these ladies produced some of the most beautiful books and botanical art to come out of Australia in the nineteenth century, covering all the Australian colonies.

Genres: History, Australia, Art, Nonfiction

236 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baron Ferdinand Von Mueller, renowned 19th century botanist, left a legacy of ordered botanical gardens, amazing botanical specimens gathered far and wide, and immense correspondence. It seems he advertised Australia-wide for 'ladies' with a botanical eye/artist talent, to record the plants in their environment, and send him their work. In a labour of love, Penny Olsen has researched the biographies and reproduced the artwork of these 'collecting ladies' - some of whom became famous in their own right, despite prejudice against women having a public profile or acclaim. It is wonderful to read the stories of these often quiet and highly talented achievers, often constrained by social expectations. A beautifully produced and highly informative book, published by the National Library of Australia.

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mueller was one of the great influencers for science in Australia and Olsen has given us the many women in his life..the powerbase behind hiswork but also great artists andnaturalists in their own right. Ellis Rowan is one ofmy favourites, not least because I can see her original artwork in the Queensland Museum, but others such as Marianne North, Louisa Atkinson (also a pioneer in geology in Australia) and the Scott sisters are among the 14 featured here. These women were also pioneer scientists (even if mostly unpaid 'citizens'j who explored and delved into many corners of Australia and Papua New Guinea. The fungi work illustrated is especially magnificent.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had two reasons for seeking out this beautiful book from the library: I love books about art and I love the delicacy of botanical illustrations, but I’m also jazzing up a unit of work called ‘Fame!’ for my year 5 & 6 students and I’m on the lookout for biographical subjects for them to research. I want them to think about why some people are famous even though they haven’t done anything particularly worthwhile, and I want them to discover people who merit more fame than they have. In particular, I’m keen for them to encounter some of the remarkable, but often overlooked women of Australian history…

Collecting Ladies, Ferdinand Von Mueller and Women Botanical Artists is perfect for my purposes. First, I get to browse through and look at the beautiful botanical illustrations – and fantasise about owning some of them to adorn the walls of my house. (As if! Most of them are in the NLA Pictures Collection, and the ones that aren’t, are in the Mitchell Library; the Australian Rare Books Collection; the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts in Tassie; the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne; other galleries and museums around Australia; and the occasional lucky private collector.)

But in addition to enjoying the lovely paintings in Collecting Ladies, I also get to read about the fascinating Von Mueller, (1825-1896) who managed to make me feel both compassion for him – and rage

To read the rest of my review please visit http://anzlitlovers.com/2013/07/09/co...

[Colette Godfrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully presented with wonderful drawings like a coffee table book, but much more informative.