"When an artist came to create a family
portrait, she became enthralled by the
bright colors of oil paints. She thought
the paints would be perfect for her
flowers."
I cannot imagine the courage it took for Marianne North to set out on her own, at 40, to chase her dream of world travels to paint the flora and fauna she loved so dearly. Up until her father's death (when she was 40), she had spent her life bowing to the expectations of her proper family. She had not been allowed to play music, study art, or get a desired education. Instead, she was to focus her life looking for a rich man to provide the life her father had provided for his family.
Marianne taught herself to paint what she found in nature near her home. Following her father's death, she committed her life to world travel and painting what she discovered. The many far-off places she visited came with their own perils: weather, transportation, rapids during river trips, tropical diseases, prejudice against her privileged life, and dangerous evil-tempered camels. Still, she traveled. And, she painted everywhere she went.
When there was no room left in her home to provide a place for her prolific artwork, she came up with a brilliant idea. She would donate her work to Kew Gardens, and build a museum to house the collection. As the museum was under construction, she returned to her travels.
" ... she spent two years on an exhausting
marathon journey exploring and painting
in Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand.
She traveled by steamer to Hawaii and "
California, crossed the United States by
train, and returned to England."
The Marianne North Gallery opened in 1882 to huge crowds, and displaying 627 paintings. Her personal views of flora and fauna showed images from nature rarely before seen. Not yet ready to end her travels, she spent more than two years adding to her work. It meant reordering and improving the space to hold the 832 paintings it houses today.
For most of the rest of her life, Marianne lived in a peaceful cottage where she spent time in her garden, and wrote a '1,727-page manuscript of her autobiography, Recollections of a Happy Life'. Her passion, perseverance, and wonder at the natural world remained a dream to the end of her life.
This is thoroughly researched and expertly written look at a life of adventure. Back matter attests to that, and provides a clear look as the work that must be done to write a book of nonfiction. Ms. Stadtlander's black ink, watercolor, and colored pencil illustrations are stunning. Full of detail and bold color, they provide ever-changing backdrops for the brave and unlimited travel experiences of a dauntless woman. A bonus is found on the endpapers - the artist's own paintings.
What a legacy she left!
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