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Butterfly Art

This page lists a selection of books about butterfly related art.

The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top.


Butterfly pages

There are four butterfly related book pages on the site:

UK field guides, site guides, checklists & atlases

UK general interest: biography, gardening, science, etc

Butterfly Conservation: national and regional publications

Butterfly art

 

Maria Merian's Butterflies

Kate Heard

Royal Collection Trust

2016

"In 1699, the German artist and entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian set sail for Suriname, in South America. There she would spend two years studying the animals and plants which she encountered, aiming to explore the life-cycle of insects (the only partially understood). Those studies led to the publication of the Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium (The Metamorphosis of the Insects of Suriname), a luxury volume, which brought the wonders of Suriname to Europe. Maria Merian’s Butterflies tells Merian’s story through her works in the Royal Collection, acquired by George III. Many are luxury versions of the plates of the Metamorphosis, partially printed and partially hand painted onto vellum by the artist herself."

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Flowers, Butterflies, Insects, Caterpillars & Serpents: From Sybilla Merian & Moses Haris XVII-XVIII Centuries Engravings

Luca Stefano Cristini

SoldierShop

2016

Bilingual: Italian / English

"In those years, Europe was full of bonfires committed to make a clean sweep of witches. At the same time a young scientist: Sybilla Merian, daughter of the well-known German engraver Matthaeus Merian, was instead committed to studying, and illustrating the microscopic world of insects, caterpillars and butterflies and the little bigger world of flowers, plants and animals. The wonderful metamorphosis of caterpillars was the basis of her best work: Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, published in Amsterdam in 1705. The work carried out by Sibylla Merian is fantastic. Indeed, during that time, it was unusual to deal with insects - the beasts of Satan. Her drawings of plants, snakes, spiders, iguanas and tropical beetles are still considered masterpieces and are sought-after by collectors around the world. Another great master, the English entomologist Moses Harris, contributed to complete the volume with his interesting engravings."

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The Butterflies of North America: Titian Peale's Lost Manuscript

American Museum of Natural History

Introductory essay: Kenneth Haltman

2015

"The American artist and naturalist Titian Ramsay Peale II (1799-1885) had a passion for butterflies and throughout his long life he wrote and illustrated The Butterflies of North America: Whence They Come, Where They Go, and What They Do, an ambitious and comprehensive manuscript. The book, along with a companion volume on caterpillars, was never published and resides today in the rare book library of the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Now, Peale's colour plates, lovingly prepared for the printer and then put carefully away by the artist more than one hundred years ago, will be published for the first time in this beautiful volume. At last, Peale's life work, equivalent in scope and beauty to Audubon's Birds of North America, will be available to a wide audience. Titian Ramsay Peale II was the youngest son of Charles Willson Peale, the patriarch of the remarkable Pennsylvania family that contributed so much to the growth of art and science in the early years of the United States. His story is told in Kenneth Haltman's introductory essay, which also describes the art and science he brought to his life's work on butterflies."

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A Butterfly Journey: Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist and Scientist

Boris Friedwald

Prestel

2015

"A woman ahead of her time, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647 1717) was an intrepid explorer, naturalist and scholar, as well as a magnificent artist. This lovely, impeccably designed book tells Merian s incredible life story alongside colourful reproductions of her engravings and watercolours of the butterflies she encountered during her lifetime in Germany and the Netherlands and her seminal trip to the Dutch colony of Surinam. The book recounts Merian s monumental expedition, her work as an advocate for the slave laborers of Surinam and her important studies of the anatomy and life cycle of the butterfly. Author Boris Friedewald employs Merian s favourite insect as a metaphor for the artist s own pioneering evolution from budding entomologist to educator, activist and artist. A visual treasure as well as a satisfying read, this exquisite volume is the perfect gift for anyone interested in Merian s amazing life and groundbreaking body of work."

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Butterfly Landscapes: A Celebration of British Butterflies Painted in Natural Habitat

Richard Tratt

Langford Press

2005

"As an art book, Butterfly Landscapes is a feast for the eyes, featuring over 200 of Richard Tratt's Natural Habitat Paintings. These images combine the author's lifelong interest in butterflies with his skills as a landscape artist. Richard's knowledge and clear concise descriptions, ensure that this is also an informative book, with a central section devoted to each of the 59 British species. This is Richard's first book and covers paintings produced over a period of more than ten years."

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A Butterfly Notebook

Douglas Hammersley

Book Guild

2003

"No one will fail to be won over by A Butterfly Notebook, Douglas Hammersley's personal odyssey into the world of the butterfly. Here you will find sixty different species, each lovingly described and painstakingly illustrated in full colour and to an astonishing level of detail. The 304 stunning illustrations are accompanied by the author's own descriptions. Over the twenty years of studying butterflies for this book, the author has observed and chronicled the many changes in the location and profusion of British Butterflies. A Butterfly Notebook preserves them all, in the hope that you too may one day encounter them in the field."

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Butterfly Season 1984

David Measures

Arlequin Press

1996

"A Collection of the artist's butterfly drawings watercolours & field notes. 60 full-colour plates are included in this limited edition signed publication."

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Last updated July 2014