Minna Rose Fernald (1860–1954) was an American

botanical artist 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 ...

. Her subjects were mainly landscapes and wildflowers. She received awards for her art and also a medal for work with the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

during

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She was born Minna Rose Simon in Baltimore in 1860 and was a relative of the botanist

Merritt Fernald Merritt Lyndon Fernald (October 5, 1873 – September 22, 1950) was an American botanist. He was a respected scholar of the taxonomy and phytogeography of the vascular plant flora of temperate eastern North America. During his career, Fernald pub ...

. She lived initially in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and then briefly in Pensylvannia but spent most of her life in

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. After education in Germany she trained at the

Maryland Institute The Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) is a private art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the oldest art colleges in the ...

under Hugh Newell of the

American Watercolor Society The American Watercolor Society, founded in 1866, is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. Qualifications AWS judges the work of a painter before granting admission to the soc ...

. Fernald’s work was exhibited in

Amherst, Massachusetts Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (althoug ...

. She accompanied her husband (Henry Torsey Fernald, married on 9 June 1890) in moving from Massachusetts to Winter Park, Florida in 1924 when he retired. She won many awards in the

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

Exposition and in exhibitions of the Florida Federation of Art. They had three children. She donated her watercolors to the University of Florida Herbarium in 1942 and they are now curated at the

Florida Museum of Natural History The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) is Florida's official state-sponsored and chartered natural-history museum. Its main facilities are located at 3215 Hull Road on the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The main pub ...

. There are around 320 watercolors in the collection. As well as the botanical accuracy of the paintings, that required her to study in the field, they are important as a record of the native flora of Florida prior to substantial urbanization and agricultural land-use. Fernald died in 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernald, Minna 1860 births 1954 deaths Botanical illustrators American women botanists American botanists 19th-century American women artists 20th-century American women artists Artists from Florida Artists from Maryland American women illustrators American illustrators People from Winter Park, Florida Artists from Massachusetts