Botanical illustration
Botanical illustrations have enhanced scientific research for thousands of years. The illustrators at the Australian Institute of Botanical Science embrace a contemporary vision of this traditional artform.
The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney boasts not one but two scientific illustrators, maintaining the legacy of Margaret Flockton, which began at the National Herbarium of NSW in 1901.
Living, pressed, dried or floating in alcohol, plants are interpreted, reimagined and perfected in illustration – no matter how humble the species, how aged or decrepit the specimens may be.
The role of our scientific illustrators is to highlight botanical research, to clarify our understanding, but along the way they also happen to make science beautiful.
Scientific Illustration Flickr Galleries
- Visit our Flickr account to enjoy a range of scientific illustrations either unpublished or published in journals other than Telopea
- View illustrations created for PlantNET – NSW FloraOnline
- Visit PlantNET
Contemporary botanical paintings of plants in the living collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.
Discover Australian botanical illustrator Margaret Flockton’s legacy which prompted an international titular award.
