Botanical artwork and photography collection
Finding aid created by California Botanic Garden staff using RecordEXPRESS
California Botanic Garden
2021
1500 N College Avenue
Claremont, California 91711
(909) 625-8767
info@calbg.org
https://www.calbg.org/
Title: Botanical artwork and photography collection
Dates: circa 1885-2014, undated
Collection Number: P.2
Creator/Collector:
Brunstetter, Ruth
Gould, John, 1804-1881
Barker, Mary Anna
Martindale, Lustin E.
Edwards, Lucia F.
Eaton, Mary E.
Extent: 12.1 linear feet (18 boxes)
Repository:
California Botanic Garden
Claremont, California 91711
Abstract: The collection consists of watercolor paintings of California native plants by Ruth Brunstetter; lithograph prints of Australian
and New Guinean birds by John Gould; watercolor paintings of California native birds by Mary Anna Barker; lantern slides of
California native plants by Lustin E. Martindale; photographs, negatives, lantern slides, and other ephemera about California
native plants, landscapes, and gardens by Lucia F. Edwards; prints of cacti illustrated by Mary E. Eaton; and artwork and
photography by other individuals, mostly used for California Botanic Garden publications or other scientific publications
by garden staff.
Language of Material: English
The collection is open to research. Contact the repository for access.
Copyright of most materials in this collection is held by the creators. Consult the librarian for details.
Botanical artwork and photography collection. California Botanic Garden
The John Gould prints were donated by Donald M. Brown (accession number 51824).
Biography/Administrative History
Ruth Brunstetter (1926-2010) was an artist, botanical illustrator, and teacher at the Cary Arboretum at New York Botanical
Garden and the University of North Carolina Botanical Garden in Chapel Hill.
John Gould (1804-1881) was an English businessman, publisher, bird collector, and artist who is best known for his color-plate
illustrations of birds. Gould’s lifetime work consisted of over 40 volumes of artwork, with more than 3000 colored plates.
Mary Anna Barker illustrated birds for California Botanic Garden in the 1980s and 1990s.
Lustin E. Martindale (1866-1950) was a commercial photographer and educational artist with the California State school system.
Martindale produced photographs and lantern slides of California native plants for publications, including Wild Flowers of
Southern California (1926) and Photographs of Wild Flowers in the Mohave and Colorado Deserts (1927).
Lucia Fox Edwards (1892-1973) was a landscape architect and photographer. Edwards photographed California native plants around
the California coasts and Santa Barbara area and designed gardens and parks in the Pasadena and Laguna Beach areas.
Mary E. Eaton (1873-1961) was a botanical illustrator for New York Botanical Garden. She was the main artist for Britton and
Rose’s four volumes of The Cactaceae (1919-1923), for which she painted 383 full-color illustrations of cacti and more than
300 black-and-white line drawings.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection encompasses the artwork and photography of multiple individuals, including Ruth Brunstetter, John Gould, Mary
Anna Barker, Lustin E. Martindale, Lucia F. Edwards, Mary E. Eaton, and others. The subject of the artists’ work relates mostly,
but not exclusively, to California native plants and birds.
Botany--California
Birds
Cactus
Black-and-white photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Lantern slides
Watercolors (paintings)
Color lithographs
Botanical illustrations