Home » Events » The Cedric Morris Lectures| Plant: Exploring the botanical world through art

The Cedric Morris Lectures| Plant: Exploring the botanical world through art

This is the last in the series of four lectures celebrating the exhibition Cedric Morris: Artist Plantsman at the Museum.

In the talk Botanist, Jamie Compton plans to show how important botanical art has been to humanity over the centuries and still is just as valuable today, using a set of images to demonstrate this. In the past identification of plants often included images that enabled people to distinguish between edible and poisonous plants. The illustrative process was immensely revolutionised by the printing process in the 15th century. The tools we have available to us today, however, are beyond the wildest dreams of our ancestors and make accuracy in identification of plants so much more reliable.

The talk will be followed by a Q&A with the Dr Jamie Compton.

This talk takes place during British Flowers Week, so at 6.30pm guests will be welcomed into the nave of the Museum to see six large floral installations as well as the exhibition Cedric Morris: Artist Plantsman before the talk begins at 7.00pm.

Speaker Biographies

  • Jamie Compton

    Jamie Compton

    RBG Kew Diploma
    Head Gardener Chelsea Physic Garden
    PhD at University of Reading: Taxonomy and Classification of Actaea
    Plant collector with Martyn Rix and John d’Arcy to China, Mexico, Argentina, Korea and South Africa
    RHS Nomenclature Group member advising The Plant Finder and Chair of RHS Lily Group
    Botanical Adviser to Gardens Illustrated Magazine

Image: Easter Bouquet, 1934, Sir Cedric Morris, © Philip Mould & Company, Cedric Morris Estate