untitled (opening flower), William Sharp; John Fisk Allen

Artwork Overview

William Sharp; John Fisk Allen, untitled (opening flower)
William Sharp; John Fisk Allen, untitled (opening flower)
William Sharp , John Fisk Allen
untitled (opening flower)
1854
William Sharp, artist
1803–1875
John Fisk Allen, author
1785–1865
untitled (opening flower), 1854
Where object was made: United States
Material/technique: chromolithograph
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 394 x 546 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 15 1/2 x 21 1/2 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 24 x 32 in
Credit line: Museum purchase
Accession number: 1978.0078.02
Not on display
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Images

Label texts

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World
The Amazonian water lily (Victoria amazonica) is famed for its huge leaves that approach 10 feet in diameter, and its flowers that can be up to a foot in diameter. Four of these prints document the first successful cultivation of the species, then known as Victoria regia in the United States. The text by amateur botanist John Fisk Allen (1807–1876) discusses the “discovery” and early encounters with the plant by Europeans traveling in South America. Allen cites the account of French botanist Aimé Bonpland, who accompanied German geographer, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt on his travels. Bonpland discusses the Amazonian water lily and the flour derived from its seeds by the indigenous peoples of Argentina. In England, Victoria amazonica was first successfully propagated and coaxed to bloom in 1849. Gardener and architect Joseph Paxton was impressed by the structure of the great lily’s leaves, which reportedly was his inspiration for the design of the lace-like cast iron structure of the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.
Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World
The Amazonian water lily (Victoria amazonica) is famed for its huge leaves that approach 10 feet in diameter, and its flowers that can be up to a foot in diameter. Four of these prints document the first successful cultivation of the species, then known as Victoria regia in the United States. The text by amateur botanist John Fisk Allen (1807–1876) discusses the “discovery” and early encounters with the plant by Europeans traveling in South America. Allen cites the account of French botanist Aimé Bonpland, who accompanied German geographer, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt on his travels. Bonpland discusses the Amazonian water lily and the flour derived from its seeds by the indigenous peoples of Argentina. In England, Victoria amazonica was first successfully propagated and coaxed to bloom in 1849. Gardener and architect Joseph Paxton was impressed by the structure of the great lily’s leaves, which reportedly was his inspiration for the design of the lace-like cast iron structure of the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.

Exhibitions

Big Botany: Conversations with the Plant World
Stephen Goddard, curator
2018
Teaching Gallery: Ecocritical Art History
2013
Art Into Art: Inspired Responses
2006–2007
Fish, Flowers & Flying Things: Nature at the Spencer
Joseph W. Lampo, curator
2002
Spencer Museum of Art Tenth Anniversary Exhibition (Spencer Museum Celebrates Ten Years of Art)
1988

Resources

Video

WATCH a time lapse video of an Amazonian water lily blooming

Citations

Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas. The Register of the Spencer Museum of Art 5, no. 8, Fall (1980):

Schultz, Elizabeth. Conversations: Art into Poetry at the Spencer Museum of Art. Kansas City, MO: Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, 2006.

Goddard, Stephen H, ed. Big Botany Conversations with the Plant World. Lawrence, Kansas: Spencer Museum of Art, The University of Kansas, 2018.