Marianne North: Her Gallery at Kew

After thirteen years of traveling the world, Marianne North had an idea – to exhibit her paintings in the Kew Gardens where her passion had begun, a project which she describes thusly in her autobiography:

"Among the criticisms of my paintings was one which suggested that the collection of botanical subjects should find their ultimate home at Kew. I kept this idea some time in my head before acting on it, but having missed a train one day and having some hours to spare, I wrote off to Sir Joseph Hooker and asked him if he would like me to give them to Kew Gardens, and to build a gallery to put them in, with a guardian's house. I wished to combine this gallery with a resthouse and a place where refreshments could be had - tea, coffee, etc.

Sir Joseph at once accepted the first part of my offer, but said it would be impossible to supply refreshments to so many (77,000 people all at once possibly on a Bank Holiday), mentioning, too, the difficulty of keeping the British Public in order. I asked Mr. Fergusson, the author of the 'History of Architecture,' to make the design and manage the building for me, which he did to the end with the greatest kindness and carefulness.

I chose the site myself, far off from the usual entrance gates, as I thought a resting place and shelter from rain and sun were more needed there, by those who cared sufficiently for plants to have made their way. I obtained leave to build a small studio for myself or any other artist to paint flowers in at any time, as there was no quiet room in the gardens in which a specimen could be copied.

After a trip to record the fauna of Australia, Borneo, New Zealand and the United States, Marianne returned to England. Her first thought was for the progress on her gallery. She wrote: "I did notlong delay in going there. I found the building finished (as far as bare walls went) most satisfactorily, its lighting perfect. Mr. Fergusson kindly arranged about the decorating and painting of the walls. I got woods from all parts of the world from which to make a dado [the lower part of a wall]. The catalogue I wrote on cards, and stuck them under the paintings; and after I had put down all I knew, Mr. Hemsley corrected and added more information, which he did so thoroughly and carefully that I asked him to finish the whole, and to put his name to the publication.

After that I spent a year in fitting and framing, patching and sorting my pictures, and finally got it finished and open to the public on the 7th of June 1882."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "A Vision of Eden: The Life and Work of Marianne North" by Marianne North.)