Botanisches Museum - Galerieausstellung

PALMS OF NORTH QUEENSLAND
Portraits in watercolour and gouache by Lucy T Smith

September 29th through November 20th, 2011

Botanical artist Lucy T Smith, who works for the palms research group at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has a strong relation to the “world of palms”. In 1997-1999, she embarked on a project to illustrate as many of the native North Queensland palm species as possible. The work was carried out as part of a Masters degree project at James Cook University of North Queensland, Townsville, Australia.
The resulting seventeen portraits of native palms are depicted in fine detail, using watercolour and gouache, against a backdrop of the environment and habitat in which they can be found.
This superb collection of paintings takes the viewer on a tour not only of the diverse and beautiful forms

of the palms of North Queensland, but also on a journey through the amazing landscapes of this region.
The paintings were first shown in Queensland in 1999. Since then, eight of the pieces were exhibited at the Royal Horticultural Society botanical art show in 2001, where they were awarded a gold medal.

Also included in the exhibition are some of the drawings prepared for other species not painted, as well as an example of the artist’s recent painting of the newly-discovered and described Madagascan palm, Tahina spectabilis.

Archontophoenix tuckeri © Lucy T. Smith