Catesby's Magnolia altissima, The Laurel Tree of Carolina, is one of the iconic images of botanic art. This gorgeous work is highly detailed and shows the magnolia in stages of full flower as well as ripe "fruit" with hanging seeds. Catesby was clearly very taken by the majestic tree: "This stately tree perfumes the woods, and displays its beauties from May till November, producing first its fragrant and ample blossoms, succeeded by its glittering fruit. It retains the leaves all the year, which being of two colors have a pretty effect when waved by the wind, displaying first one side, and then the other."

About Mark Catesby

When Mark Catesby published his landmark work, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands (1731 — 1743), it was the first comprehensive study and illustration of the flora and fauna of the English colonies in the New World.

The Royal Society and its President, Sir Isaac Newton, invited Catesby in 1720 "to Observe the Rarities of the Country for the uses and purposes of the Society". In 1722, Catesby set sail for Charleston, South Carolina and produced hundreds of drawings and watercolors before returning to London four years later.

To reduce the cost of publication, Catesby himself designed, engraved and colored the plates. Each Perfect Recreation™ is made from a pristine First Edition of The Natural History hand colored by Catesby and purchased in the original syndication by Charles Cavendish of the Royal Society and bequeathed to his more famous scientist son, Henry.

In addition to being the first documentation of the wildlife and vegetation of the Americas, The Natural History is the first work of natural history art to place animals in the context and setting of the plants of their natural habitats. This artistic breakthrough is believed to have influenced Audubon's great works a century later.

If you'd like to learn very much more about his landmark work, you might want to buy Empire's Nature: Mark Catesby's New World Vision at Amazon.com