Paul Leith: Kew Gardens: Sir Joseph Banks Building

Artist: Paul Leith
1946 -
Nationality: British
Artwork Year: 1990
Image Size: 14 by 12 inches
Overall Size: 17.625 by 12.5 inches
Medium: Water Color on Water Color Paper

This image features a cycad, a fernlike tree of ancient origin, appearing near the Sir Joseph Banks building, which opened at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew in 1990. Banks, a noted botanist, was unofficial director of Kew while it was still a private royal garden. He actively promoted economic botany, the study of plants with particular uses. Botanic and horticultural adviser to King George III, Banks came from a noble heritage. Born to a wealthy family in London in 1743, he studied the natural sciences, went on Captain Cook's voyage around the world and upon returning to England, became the scientific pundit of the age, favoring biology over the other sciences. The King appointed Banks to advise on the scientific side of the work at Kew. It was Banks who then initiated plant collecting abroad by planned expeditions which enriched England with seven thousand new plant species during his own lifetime. After Sir Joseph's death in 1820, the Royal Gardens went into a period of decline reversed only when the Treasury appointed a committee to inquire into the gardens' management in 1838. The committee's report resulted in the transfer of the gardens from the Crown to Parliament, and the gardens at Kew came to be officially recognized as the Royal Botanic Gardens. The Banks building is the latest addition to Kew's singularly unique pieces of architecture.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the Great Britain 20p Kew Gardens 1840 - 1990 stamp issue of June 5, 1990.

Artwork Copyright © 1990 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): XB12454

US$ Price: $1,700.00

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