Press Release
Work from Botanical Artists in the Collection of
Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE
Celebrating 25 Years of her Collection
Greater Knapweed, by Rosie Sanders
An Exhibition at Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery
Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery is delighted to be holding a selling exhibition of
new works by botanical artists in the collection of Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE. The
exhibition unites 18 outstanding contemporary artists, selected by Dr Sherwood, who
is celebrating 25 years as a collector and supporter of botanical art.
Papaver, by Fiona Strickland
Botanical art has for centuries been closely linked to exploration, travel, and
adventure, aiding and inspiring scientists in their quest to understand the natural
world. The best botanical artists have always, however, combined technical skill in
producing a faithful likeness of a specimen with their own artistic flair. The artists in
this exhibition, drawn from four continents, represent the very best of contemporary
botanical art, each differing in style, but all perfectly capturing the essence of their
chosen subject. They include Beverly Allen, Francesca Anderson, Susannah Blaxill,
Phansakdi Chakkaphak, Ingrid Finnan, Monika de Vries Gohlke, Coral Guest, Sue
Herbert, Annie Hughes, Mieko Ishikawa, Kate Nessler, Susan Ogilvy, Rachel Pedder-
Smith, Bryan Poole, Rosie Sanders, Fiona Strickland, Jessica Tcherepine, and Carol
Woodin.
The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art in Kew Gardens is the first gallery
dedicated solely to botanical art, displaying the works of living artists from the
collection of Dr Shirley Sherwood OBE alongside the Garden’s holdings. It is a vivid
testament to the current renaissance of contemporary botanical art, demonstrating its
fruitful dialogue with great masters of the past while highlighting the excellence of
Listing Information:
The gallery is open Monday – Friday 10am – 6.30pm and Saturday 11am – 4pm. Free
Admission. Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery, 20 Park Walk, London, SW10 0AQ.
Press Information:
For more information or images please contact Rebecca Wall at
rebeccawall@jonathancooper.co.uk or on 020 7351 0410.
Notes to Editors:
Interested in plants and art since childhood, Dr
Sherwood earned her undergraduate degree in botany
from Oxford University and her D.Phil working in a
team which discovered the important drug Tagamet.
She started the Shirley Sherwood Collection in 1990,
and it now includes 900 paintings and drawings,
representing the work of over 240 contemporary artists
from 30 countries around the world. Alongside curating
exhibitions of works from her collection specially hung
for the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, she has exhibited her collection in many other
prestigious locations including the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, the
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the Marciana Library in Venice and the Real Jardín
Botánico Madrid. She has also written six books and many articles on botanical art.
The Sherwood family have all generously supported Kew with the building of the
Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art, the only purpose-designed botanical art
gallery in the world. The gallery was opened in April 2008, and has between 2 –
3,000 visitors a week.
Awarded the OBE for services to botanical art in early 2012, Dr Sherwood is a Fellow
of the Linnaean Society, was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal
Horticultural Society and is an Hon. Fellow of St Anne’s College, Oxford.
Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery - founded in 1988 - is a London based
contemporary art gallery specialising in representational drawing, painting,
photography and sculpture. The gallery is a member of SLAD (The Society of
London Art Dealers), BADA (The British Antique Dealers Association) and
LAPADA (The Association of Art & Antique Dealers), and regularly exhibits at
international art fairs.
Leaves, by Rachel Pedder-Smith