Mary Lawrance (also known as Mary Kearse) ( fl. 1794–1830) was a British

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 ...

who specialized in flowers. She also taught botanical illustration. She is best known for producing the earliest published work on roses. Her first known exhibition was at the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

in 1795. Between 1796 and 1799 she created and published ''The Various Kinds of Roses Cultivated in England''. The book featured paintings of

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

s that Lawrance drew from nature. She also engraved and hand coloured the plates of the book and undertook the printing and publishing of the volume. In 1813 she married Thomas Kearse, continuing to work under her married name Mrs Kearse. She exhibited work until 1830. Her work is held in the collection of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

, the Auckland Libraries Heritage Collection, and the

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, located in the Wade Park District, in the University Circle neighborhood on the city's east side. Internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian and Egyptian ...

Works by Mary Lawrance

*''A Collection of Roses from Nature'', 1799 *''Sketches of Flower from Nature'', 1801 *''A Collection of Passion Flowers Coloured from Nature'', 1802

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrance, Mary Flower artists 19th-century English painters Year of birth missing Year of death missing