Jack Kramer

Jack Kramer’s Women of Flowers: A Tribute to Victorian Women Illustrators was published in 1996 by Stewart, Tabori and Chang in a large format and was immediately honored with an award of excellence from the Garden Writers Association of America. Now in a mini edition, this remarkable illustrated book allows us to venture back to the Golden Age of Illustration so that we may discover the work and personalities of the women who were previously unnamed. Susan Fenimore Cooper wrote books about the flora and fauna of upstate New York in the 1850s while living in service to her famous father, James. Mrs. E.W. Wirt, the mother of twelve, compiled and illustrated books about flowers to amuse and educate her children. Elizabeth Blackwell drew 500 botanical plates to raise money to free her husband from debtor’s prison. These are only a few of the artists we call Women of Flowers. Since the early 1970s, horticultural expert Jack Kramer has been collecting works by Victorian women artists. Women of Flowers is his tribute to those women who received so little credit in their own day and age. Over 150 floral paintings and prints illustrate the life stories of 35 women artists from America, England, Germany, and France. In this elegant and charming gift book, hundreds of dazzling full-color floral paintings and botanical prints illustrate the fascinating life stories of Victorian women artists who made tremendous contributions to the art and science of botany. Most received little or no recognition for their work due to the patriarchal Victorian society that they lived in. Women of Flowers pays homage to these remarkable artists in a volume that compiles not only their history and biographies but also some of their best work.

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