Born in Bangalore, botanical artist Nirupa Rao uses the medium of book illustration to share her ongoing exploration of the tropical flora of southern India and her concern for nature conservation. Addressed to adults as well as children, her books are products of regular field visits and collaborations with wildlife biologists, educating their readers in plant behaviors and interactions and documenting the species native to the region. Many plants that Rao depicts come from the Western Ghats, a mountain chain along the west coast of India; vital to the monsoon weather pattern, its evergreen forests were described by UNESCO as one of the world’s eight “biodiversity hotspots.” The image of Sterculia urens was specially created for this exhibition.
More Exhibit Items
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1885, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Janner 885”
![Phalænopsis Luddemanniana [Lüddemanniana], Java, Sander et Rchb. Fil](https://www.doaks.org/resources/online-exhibits/margaret-mee-portraits-of-plants/mixed-media/phalaenopsis-luddemanniana/@@images/image/thumb)
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1885, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Janner 885”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni,” added in pencil “Costa Rica”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1886, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “April 886”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni”
![Thunia Alba var. Litacina [lilacina?], O. Indien, Hort.](https://www.doaks.org/resources/online-exhibits/margaret-mee-portraits-of-plants/mixed-media/thunia-alba-var-litacina-lilacina-o-indien-hort/@@images/image/thumb)
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, dated “Juni”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 24 x 31.5 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper, signed “KBM”
Caroline Maschek (1857–1938), 1884–91, 31.5 × 24 cm, with additional sheet of thin paper measuring 28.5 × 24 cm, gouache on tinted Bristol paper
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 1998, 14 x 17 in., drawing pen, brush, and ink on Denril Multi-media film. Loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 2015, 14 3/4 x 19 in., drawing, pen, brush, and ink on Denril Multi-media film. On loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Alice Tangerini (b. 1949), 1992, 11 1/2 × 15 3/8 in., drawing, pen and ink on Cronaflex Drafting film. Loan, Alice Tangerini / Smithsonian Institution
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2004, 50.8 x 50.8 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2016, 33.8 x 76.2 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Amy Lamb (b. 1944), 2004, 32.5 x 76.2 cm, pigment print of photograph. Loan, Amy Lamb
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2019, 45.7 × 61 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2017, 33.3 × 40.6 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao
Nirupa Rao (b. 1990), 2018, 24.8 × 28.6 cm, watercolor. Loan, Nirupa Rao