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the gibbes museum of art
Tulip ‘Helen Josephine’, 1975, by Rory McEwen (Scottish, 1932 – 1982). Watercolor on vellum, 29.75 x 26.25 inches. On loan courtesy of the Estate of Rory McEwen. ©2023 Estate of Rory McEwen
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I paint flowers as a way of getting as close as possible to what I perceive as the truth, my truth of the time in which I live.

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Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature

January 26, 2024 - April 28, 2024

Galleries 8 & 9

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Presenting the vibrant and varied career of the renowned Scottish artist, Rory McEwen (1932 –1982), this exhibition reveals  McEwen’s lifelong enquiry into light and color through his remarkable paintings of plants.  Bringing a modern sensibility to botanical art, McEwen developed a distinctive style, painting on vellum and using large empty backgrounds on which his plant portraits seem to float. Without shadows and executed in exact, minutely accurate detail, he recorded the imperfect and the unique, as well as the flawless. McEwen’s work, shown in this exhibition alongside the works of master botanical artists from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, “has had a lasting impact on the botanical art world, where he is recognized as one of the standard-bearers of today’s renaissance in botanical painting.” 

The Exhibition, Rory McEwen: A New Perspective on Nature, is presented by the Gibbes Museum of Art in association with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (London) and Oak Spring Garden Foundation (Virginia); tour management by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.

 

Generous support for this exhibition presentation at the Gibbes is provided by lead sponsors Cindy and Ben Lenhardt.

"

I paint flowers as a way of getting as close as possible to what I perceive as the truth, my truth of the time in which I live.

"

Sponsors

  • McEwen
  • Oak Spring
  • Lambert Foundation
  • McEwen
  • BlueCross
  • Jane Smith Turner