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New Flowering: 1000 Years of Botanical Art | 
 enlarge | Author: Shirley Sherwood
Publisher: Ashmolean Museum
Category: Book
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $24.54
You Save: $15.41 (39%)
New (15) Used (3) from $20.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 421793
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 200
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.1
Dimensions (in): 10.9 x 8.6 x 0.9
ISBN: 1854442066
Dewey Decimal Number: 704
EAN: 9781854442062
ASIN: 1854442066
Publication Date: October 11, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: New. SKU 1854442066. Mint Condition - with immediate next working day shipment from the UK to anywhere in the world.
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Product Description
The magnificent old, the masterful new, this is the premise in this lush publication with 180 plant portraits that span 1,000 years. These portraits were selected from the unique collection of Dr. Shirley Sherwood and from the rich treasures of Oxford's libraries and museums.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Not-so-New Flowering March 6, 2006
59 out of 59 found this review helpful
Being a big fan of Shirley Sherwood's previous publications Contemporary Botanical Artists (1996) and A Passion for Plants (2001), I have been eagerly awaiting any further publications from this collector. I immediately purchased A New Flowering - 1000 years of Botanical Art when it was released in late 2005, but unfortunately I was quite disappointed. Rather than a whole new collection of wondrous botanical art, A New Flowering is principally an exhibition catalogue emanating from the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, in mid 2005 containing many works seen in the previously mentioned books.
The title is somewhat of a misnomer. This is not a history of botanical art. There is one reference and illustration of a herbal dating from 1080 - 1090. From there the text jumps to around the mid 1400s. From there we have chapters covering the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, as well as chapters dealing with Ehret, Jacquin, the Bauer brothers, Redoute, and Ruskin. There are examples of the works of these historical figures interspersed with comparable examples of similar plants by contemporary artists.
Unfortunately, of the 107 contemporary illustrations, 72 have already appeared in either Contemporary Botanical Artists (38) or A Passion for Plants (34). Those seeking a new collection of modern botanical works may well be disappointed. There are approximately 60 historical examples, but readers already familiar with Wilfred Blunt's The Art of Botanical Illustration or similar works will find nothing new here.
There is a short chapter dealing with the scientific aspects of botanical illustration, and another with a broad description of the various techniques used, but neither are covered in any depth.
For those who do not own either of Shirley Sherwood's previous publications, A New Flowering would be a pleasant addition to their botanical illustration library, but I would not recommend it to anyone looking for new inspirational material.
 Best Book on Botanical art history February 20, 2006
12 out of 13 found this review helpful
Shirley Sherwood and her editors have published a magnificent book on botanical art history. The narrative is well written, the art is outstanding. One walks away from reading ths book a better person.
It is a better book than Sherwood's "Contemporary Botanical Masters" hard cover -- which has some wonderful art by contemporary botanic artists, but was printed cheaply, with many pages of compelling artwork by the best watercolorists looking fuzzy.
Never the less, Sherwood has taken time to organize the best collection of botanical art I have seen. She has done us all a public service by promoting great artists like Jean Emmons, Kate Nessler, Carol Woodin here in the US (just a few of many artists from around the world) and educating this reader of botanical art's history, too.
Ms. Sherwood was on the Board of the Kew Botanic Gardens -- may still be. She is part of the aristocracy of elite wealth -- most of whom are hoarders and greedy. But she has given the world a gift that no money can buy in editing and publishing this book on 1000 Years of Botanical Art.
Interesting comparison/presentation of historical perspective and contemporary work February 10, 2006
29 out of 29 found this review helpful
*If you're a painter trying to pick up techniques*, "Contemporary Botanical Artists" would be better because 1) the reproductions are larger (better for seeing small details) and 2) most of the art is from the mid-1990s, so the format might be closer to what you'd be producing (for example, a watercolor instead of an illuminated manuscript), and 3) the reproductions are somehow a little higher quality, to my eye. "Contemporary" is organized alphabetically by artists' last name, which is handy if you like to see one person's style applied to several works, shown next to each other. Also, because most of the paintings were done within the past 12-15 years (vs. 200-1000 years ago) the supports and paints are similar to what's available now.
*If you're a painter and considering different styles of presentation*, the concept of "1000 Years" might be more useful. "1000 Years" presents paintings in pairs or groups, for example, contrasting a fritillaria 'sketch' from Ruskin with a watercolor painting from 10 years ago. The book also includes such different formats as an oil painting on glass, or panels, or illuminated manuscripts. So, if you know _how_ to paint what you want but are looking for ideas on themes or surfaces or styling, "1000 Years" would be more useful.
If you have one volume and are considering getting another, keep in mind that several illustrations are in both books, and some of the commentary is also understandably similar. (I wasn't sure what to expect in that regard...) Both are very nice books and, if you know what to expect, worth having.
On the subject of watercolor technique, I would also recommend "Painting Flowers in Watercolour: A Naturalistic Approach" (C. Guest), more so than "Botanical Illustration in Watercolor" (E. Wunderlich), if you aspire to the illustrations in either Sherwood book but feel stuck at a "reasonable but not stunning" level. In my opinion, Guest's book expects you to be an intermediate or advanced watercolorist who wants to paint flowers, not a beginner painter. The life-size illustrations are also more useful. Btw, C. Guest's work in included in "Contemporary", and S. Sherwood supplied a foreword for Guest's book.
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