The Enchanting Flora of Marianne North: A Visual Voyage at Kew Gardens

When I first visited the Marianne North Gallery at Kew Gardens a couple of years ago, I was completely captivated by the stunning botanical paintings that filled the gallery from floor to ceiling. I was equally fascinated by the story of this remarkable Victorian woman who loved to travel and paint.

At that time, the gallery was about to close for renovation, so I didn’t do anything with the photos I had taken. However, after revisiting the gallery recently, I was struck by how Marianne North could be seen as a travel blogger of her era. I want to share her story and paintings with you.

My husband gave me a wonderful book called “A Vision of Eden,” which is filled with her botanical paintings, journal entries, and stories from her extensive travels to places like the United States, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, the Seychelles, Borneo, Australia, New Zealand, and Chile. Each journey is illustrated with paintings of the scenery and plants of these exotic lands, captured at a time when photography was just beginning. She often enjoyed the hospitality of strangers, introduced by letters from friends, long before the concept of couch-surfing existed.

Marianne North was born in 1830 into a wealthy family who split their time between their estate in Norfolk, London, and Hastings, where her father was a Member of Parliament. She was educated mainly by governesses and took up painting at the age of 20, a common pastime for young ladies of her background.

In 1855, Marianne’s mother died, and she made Marianne promise never to leave her father. She kept this promise, accompanying him on his travels through the Pyrenees, the Alpine valleys around Mont Blanc, Hungary, Constantinople, and Trieste. Friends encouraged her to start a travel journal, illustrated with pen and ink drawings. In 1865, after her father lost his seat in the General Election, they embarked on another extended voyage through Greece, Beirut, and Damascus, including a trip down the Nile.

When Marianne’s father died in 1870, she set off on a series of journeys to satisfy her curiosity and cope with her grief. She soon discovered a love for traveling alone. In 1871, she sailed to the United States to stay with a friend in Massachusetts, where she enjoyed painting the autumn trees and Niagara Falls. She visited New York and Washington, where she met President Grant and was invited to dinner at the White House.

As autumn turned to winter, Marianne fled the cold and sailed to Jamaica, arriving on Christmas Eve 1871. She rented a house in a wild, overgrown garden and worked on her botanical paintings. She traveled around the island, socializing with local families, though she was hindered by rats that ate holes in her boots.

In 1872-73, she was in Brazil, marveling at the wildlife and landscapes. Between 1875, she visited Madeira, California, and Japan, where she received a special order from the Mikado to sketch in Kyoto for three months. In 1876, she sailed to Borneo and Java, where she was amazed by the wonders of the forest.

Marianne returned via Ceylon, where she had a memorable encounter with a snake. Between 1877-79, she visited India, where she found the Golden Temple in Amritsar to be a real gem. In 1880, she returned to England and offered to build a gallery at Kew Gardens to house her collection of botanical paintings. Her offer was accepted, and she carefully chose the site and engaged an architect to design the gallery.

In 1881, Marianne spent most of her time arranging her new gallery, which opened in 1882 with over 800 of her paintings. The gallery allowed visitors to marvel at the rich flora and fauna of the places she had visited.

Following a major restoration, the gallery has been repaired and the pictures restored and rehung. A small exhibition room has been opened with audiovisual displays about Marianne’s life and travels, and a passageway now leads to the adjoining modern Shirley Sherwood Gallery, which features more botanical paintings.

If you visit Kew Gardens, be sure to check out Marianne North’s colorful and exotic paintings. If you read the stories of her travels, I hope you’ll be as inspired as I was by this intrepid Victorian lady’s enthusiasm, good humor, and curiosity for the world. She was truly a travel blogger before her time.