Jacque LeMoyne de Morgues

In 1564, LeMoyne was sent to the New World by Charles IX of France. Serving as the official artist and cartographer of an expedition intended to establish a French colony in Florida, LeMoyne was the first great botanic artist to observe, draw and paint the flora of North America. LeMoyne returned two years later when the colonial attempt failed; there, he painted the first of five extraordinary florilegia. He fled to London in 1572 to escape the Huguenot massacres then sweeping France.

In London, LeMoyne's patrons included Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Mary Sidney. He is regarded as one of the most exceptional artists working in Elizabethan England. There, he created four more of his landmark florilegia.

We have recreated the paintings from the largest and earliest of these great works, which is also the freshest and most spontaneous of them all. (The other LeMoyne florilegia are in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum, The British Museum, the Oak Spring Library in Virginia and in the private collection of the Mellon family.)

All of these masterpieces are original watercolors; none were engraved for subsequent printing and publication. We believe our Discovery Edition™ represents the first-ever reproduction of LeMoyne's botanic art.