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Lot Essay
Until early this century the work of Philippa Crabtree had not been seen for generations, after the exhibition of three of her works at the Royal Academy between 1786 and 1787. On 5 February 1920, however, a portfolio of drawings on vellum was sold at Messrs. Hodgson in London. The appearance at the same time of works by Elizabeth and Robert Crabtree revealed the existence of a whole artistic family.
The earliest dated drawing by Philippa Crabtree was executed in 1784, and all her other recorded works were completed before the end of the 18th century. The artist illustrated not only common garden plants, but also many exotic varieties that she might have seen at Curtis's London Botanic Garden, a short walk from her home at Bishopsgate.
There were fifty recorded watercolours by the artist, most with the artist's nomenclature, and, as with the present watercolour, the more unusual species are those that remain undated.
In 'A Forgotten Botanical Artist: Miss Crabtree' in The Gardeners Chronicle, June 1920, p. 278, W. Roberts speculates that the watercolours which appeared may have been executed for a publication and wonders if any of them were anonymous illustrations for early publications such as the Botanical Magazine.
A group of watercolours by Philippa Crabtree were sold at Sotheby's London in November 1965.
The earliest dated drawing by Philippa Crabtree was executed in 1784, and all her other recorded works were completed before the end of the 18th century. The artist illustrated not only common garden plants, but also many exotic varieties that she might have seen at Curtis's London Botanic Garden, a short walk from her home at Bishopsgate.
There were fifty recorded watercolours by the artist, most with the artist's nomenclature, and, as with the present watercolour, the more unusual species are those that remain undated.
In 'A Forgotten Botanical Artist: Miss Crabtree' in The Gardeners Chronicle, June 1920, p. 278, W. Roberts speculates that the watercolours which appeared may have been executed for a publication and wonders if any of them were anonymous illustrations for early publications such as the Botanical Magazine.
A group of watercolours by Philippa Crabtree were sold at Sotheby's London in November 1965.