Elsie Margaret Stones (28 August 1920 – 26 December 2018), was an Australian

botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...

Life

Stones was born on 28 August 1920 in

Colac, Victoria Colac is a small city in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac. History For thousands of years clans of the Gulidjan people occupied the region o ...

, Australia. Stones worked as principal contributing artist to ''

Curtis's Botanical Magazine ''The Botanical Magazine; or Flower-Garden Displayed'', is an illustrated publication which began in 1787. The longest running botanical magazine, it is widely referred to by the subsequent name ''Curtis's Botanical Magazine''. Each of the issue ...

'' from 1950 to 1981. Between 1958 and 1983 she produced more than 400 watercolour drawings for the magazine. In 1957 she was commissioned to prepare a set of floral designs for Australian postage stamps. Stones worked closely with

Winifred Curtis Winifred Mary Curtis (15 June 1905 – 14 October 2005) was a United Kingdom, British-born Australian botanist, author and a pioneer researcher in plant embryology and cell (biology), cytology who played a prominent role in the department of bot ...

between 1967 and 1978 in providing the illustrations for '' The Endemic Flora of Tasmania'' which was commisissioned by Rose Maud Talbot and her brother. In 1976, Stones was commissioned to create a series of six watercolours as part of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

's celebration of the American bicentennial. The project's scope was soon expanded, and over the next fourteen years, Stones and a team of LSU botanists traveled throughout the state gathering plant specimens. She eventually completed more than 200 drawings, which were published by the

LSU Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of American Univer ...

in 1991 as ''Flora of Louisiana''. The original drawings, as well as selected working drawings, are now held in the LSU Libraries Special Collections in Hill Memorial Library. She was awarded a silver

Veitch Memorial Medal The Veitch Memorial Medal is an international prize issued annually by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). Goal The prize is awarded to "persons of any nationality who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement and improvement o ...

in 1976 and a gold Veitch Memorial Medal in 1985 by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

. Stones has two genera named after her, '' Stonesia'', and ''

Stonesiella ''Stonesiella selaginoides'' (common name - Clubmoss bush-pea) is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae. It is the only member of the genus ''Stonesiella'' and is endemic to Tasmania. ...

''. In 1977 Stones was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire and in 1988 a Member of the Order of Australia for "service to art as an illustrator of botanical specimens". Stones died at Epworth,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on 26 December 2018 at the age of 98. She never married.

References

External links

*Native Flora of Louisiana: Watercolor Drawings by Margaret Stones, Louisiana Digital Library, Baton Rouge, La. (accessed 2 February 2015) 1920 births 2018 deaths Botanical illustrators Members of the Order of Australia Veitch Memorial Medal recipients {{Australia-artist-stub

Life

See also

References

Further reading

External links