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Lot description
Augusta Innes Withers, British 1792-1877- The Nursery; watercolour and bodycolour heightened with gum arabic on paper, 24.5 x 31.2 cm. Provenance: Property from the estate of the late David Cornwell, best-known as the author John Le Carré. Note: Withers specialised in subjects of natural history and served as a flower painter to Queen Victoria, having previously held this same position under Queen Adelaide. She contributed to a number of significant contemporary publications, including 'The Orchidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala' by James Bateman. She also illustrated Robert Thompson's 'The Gardener's Assistant', and a number of magazines including the 'Transactions of the Horticultural Society of London', 'Curtis's Botanical Magazine', and 'The Illustrated Bouquet'. The present work reveals Withers's technical skill in depicting birds and flowers, whilst imbuing the subject with significantly more sentiment and empathy than her scientific illustrations.