BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Art & Science Museum (LASM) will open its exhibition Artistry and Accuracy: Botanical Illustrations by Margaret Stones in the Catwalk Gallery on Wednesday, March 1st. The botanical illustrations of Australian-born Margaret Stones (1920—2018), who is one of the world’s most celebrated botanical artists, are a seamless combination of art and science. The artist’s drawings document Louisiana’s plants and flowers with accurate scientific detail while also artistically and uniquely capturing the flora’s intricate beauty.
Dr. Gresdna Doty, Louisiana State University (LSU) Professor of Theatre, suggested that LSU Chancellor Dr. Paul Murrill commission Margaret Stones to create six watercolor drawings commemorating the bicentennial of America and the fiftieth anniversary of LSU’s Baton Rouge campus in 1976. This illustrated study was so well received by the LSU community that it eventually expanded to become a project later known as the Native Flora of Louisiana Collection. The collection grew over the next twenty-three years into 224 watercolor drawings, becoming one of the most scientifically significant artistic recordings since John James Audubon published The Birds of America in 1838, and is housed in the LSU Libraries Special Collections Hill Memorial Library.
LASM is pleased to pair the Margaret Stones exhibition with Wild Bees, a series of photographs by Paula Sharp, writer photojournalist, and Ross Eatman, veteran nature photographer, that will be on display in the Colonnade Gallery until May 7th. Wild Bees follows a project that the two began in 2016 and documents the unique distinctive ecosystem in which Sharp and Eatman traced the habits and activities of wild bees. Their study follows the travel of these unique pollinators as they move between agricultural plants and woodland nests and flora.
Wild Bees is designed to inspire nature-lovers who prefer to observe rather than collect bees. “Margaret Stones’ botanical drawings seemed like a natural connection to the wild bees,” states Curator and Public Programs Manager, Tracey Barhorst. “Bees and flowering plants have a mutualistic relationship; in other words, each has something that greatly benefits the other. Sharp and Eatman’s photographs highlight the beauty of Stones’ pristine illustrations connecting art and science across different mediums.”
Margaret Stones’ work during her time in Louisiana is considered an extraordinary record of the state’s plant life. Referring to her time in Louisiana as “the ten happiest years of my life,” Stones was clearly charmed by the state and even called it “my Louisiana.” Insisting on only working from live specimens, Stones made regular trips to Baton Rouge over the years, collecting specimens with locals and creating many enduring friendships including that of Dr. Gresdna Doty.
In 1986, Stones was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science from LSU, and in 1991, her drawings were published in a book titled Flora of Louisiana. Stones left a great legacy documenting the beloved flora of Louisiana, especially some rare and endangered plants that had never been illustrated before. In 2018, the entire collection was republished in a limited-edition folio titled Native Flora of Louisiana. Twelve of the over 200 illustrations were offered as prints in a limited-edition series. The Louisiana Art & Science Museum’s collection includes all twelve of these prints.
This exhibition was made possible by Cary Saurage through the Alma Lee, Norman, and Cary Saurage Fund of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. The Baton Rouge Rotary Club donated Margaret Stones’ work to LASM’s collection and Ann Connelly Fine Art provided framing.
Visit lasm.org for more information on Artistry and Accuracy: Botanical Illustrations by Margaret Stones and other exhibitions at LASM.
About the Louisiana Art & Science Museum:
Located at 100 South River Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70801 and housed on the banks of the Mississippi River in a historic railway station in downtown Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Art & Science Museum believes that art and science shape each other, our lives, and the world.
Founded in 1962, the LASM is home to a permanent collection including over 4,000 objects; one of the only permanent ancient Egypt galleries in the southeastern United States, housing an authentic, Ptolemaic-era mummy; displays changing art exhibitions of local and international acclaim; and since 2003, the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium: the largest and most advanced planetarium in Louisiana and one of the largest in the southeastern United States.
LASM is now open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 AM – 3 PM, Saturdays from 10 AM – 5 PM, and Sundays from 1 PM – 5 PM. Museum doors open at 9:45 AM for seating in the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium. On Saturdays and Sundays, the last planetarium show runs at 4 PM. Admission, which includes unlimited access to all planetarium shows, is free for members and children 2 years old and under; $10 for children ages 3-12 and senior adults aged 65 and up; and $12 for adults. Active-duty military members, first responders, military veterans, and their families receive free admission with ID as part of the Blue Star Museums program, sponsored by Special Risk Insurance DBA VFIS of Miss/Lou.
A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the Museum relies on the support of donations to operate; support the Museum and become a member for free general admission year-round at lasm.org. Stay in touch at lasm.org and follow us on Facebook (@theLASM) and Instagram (@lasmbr).
