Anon. Japanese Skimmia Berries (Skimmia japonica), Verwood, Dorset

Botanical Watercolours: Verwood (1913–1916)

This painting forms part of a delightful collection of botanical works associated with the village of Verwood in Dorset. It is most likely that the artist is part of a prominent Verwood family of the time. This could be related to William Fryer, a barrister, for whom Verwood Manor was built, or the first Vicar of Verwood, Rev. Claude Brown, a man of substantial private means and a powerful personality, who was instrumental in shaping the village.

This was painted at a time when flower-rich grasslands and meadows were a common sight in Britain: observing wildflowers was a feature of everyday rural life, and popular knowledge and appreciation of the simple things growing around us was much greater. In the 18th and 19th centuries botanical illustration became an art in its own right, playing an important role in world exploration. Botanical artists were often commissioned to catalogue plant collections, and botanical classification was becoming an increasingly sophisticated science. This professional cataloguing had a profound and enduring influence on the artistic pursuits and tastes of the wider public. Paintings of this sort are an important record British flora; it is estimated that over 97% of Britain's wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s.