Mark Catesby, ‘The Blew Jay’ and ‘The Bay-leaved Smilax’, 1722-25. Royal Collection Trust / © Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2021.
Henrietta McBurney, former Curator in the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, shines a light on the celebrated English pioneer naturalist, artist and author Mark Catesby (1683–1749).
Working against a backdrop of global travel and exploration, Catesby spent two periods in the New World – in Virginia (1712–19) and in South Carolina and the Bahamas (1722–26) – which he documented in his Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (published between 1729 and 1747). He was the first to show the interaction of birds and other animals in their natural environments and made drawings in the wild to capture the colours and ‘gestures’ of animals and plants.
The talk will describe the highlights of Catesby’s travels and showcase some of his spectacular watercolours which are now amongst the most prized sets of natural history drawings in the Royal Collection.
Illuminating Natural History: The Art and Science of Mark Catesby by Henrietta McBurney is published (June 2021) by The Paul Mellon Centre / Yale. Ticket holders will receive a code to use online for 20% off the retail price (UK orders only, free P&P).
Proceeds from our ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live, or on-demand for three weeks afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.