upcoming

The Botany of Delight

What:

The College of the Redwoods Art Gallery will present “The Botany of Delight”, an exhibition featuring the botanical wildflower prints of Arthur Van Deventer, and highlighting the historically invaluable contributions of Arthur and his wife Ruby, an amateur botanist, in bringing to light the unique botanical diversity and importance of the Klamath-Siskiyou Region.  The exhibition will run from October 13 through November 4, with a special public reception the evening of Friday, October 22 from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m., to coincide with CR’s 25th annual Science Night.

 

In the first half of the 20th century, very little was known of the native flora in the remote northernmost regions of California, and it was here in their home county of Del Norte that Arthur and Ruby Van Deventer spent their lives together extensively exploring, collecting, pressing, painting, and identifying plant specimens.  Their dedication and enthusiasm proved an indispensable resource to UC Berkeley Professor and leading field botanist of early 19th Century California, Willis Linn Jepson in the expansion and revising of his “Manual of the Plants of California” – the veritable bible of California botany.      

 

Before his death is 1946, Jepson had encouraged the couple to put together their own book on the flora of their region, illustrated with Arthur’s paintings and drawings, a dream that despite their best efforts never quite reached fruition.  After their deaths in the 1970s, the 1100-page manuscript and hundreds of botanical paintings they left behind were nearly forgotten.

 

“The Botany of Delight” is curated by Rick Bennett, a trustee for College of the Redwoods, and the editor of the recently published, “A Rare Botanical Legacy”, an anthology of the story and botanical contributions of Ruby and Arthur Van Deventer.  In 2004 when Bennett rediscovered the incredible research and paintings done by Ruby and Arthur, he started the Van Deventer Legacy Project in the hopes of preserving and disseminating the beautiful and important work done by the couple.  The project culminated in the publishing of the book, and the legacy lives on through the Ruby Van Deventer county park, the Del Norte Historical Society and Museum, wildflower shows, and with art exhibitions like this one.   Copies of the book are available at the CR Bookstore.

 

The College of the Redwoods Art Gallery is located in the Creative Arts Complex on the Eureka Main Campus, via the North Entrance.  The Gallery is open Mondays, 1:30 – 6:00; Tuesdays, 11 – 6:00; Wednesdays, 10 – 6:00; and Thursdays 3 – 6:00 p.m.   For more information, or to make an appointment to see the exhibition, please phone the division office at 707-476-4558. 

 

When/where:

Dates
Time	5-8 p.m.
Phone	707-476-4558
Venue	College of the Redwoods