Miss Lawrence, as she was widely known, possibly because of her profession as a teacher of botanical drawing, will go down in rose history as the person who published the first book in Britain to be dedicated to the rose. ‘A Collection of Roses from Nature’ (1799), a book of flower paintings, portrays an unusual and beautiful frontispiece followed by ninety paintings of roses all drawn, engraved and hand coloured by Miss Lawrence herself. The original art work is now held in the collections of the New York public library. It is believed that all her paintings were taken from real rose specimens and then not only painted by her but engraved, hand coloured, printed, published and marketed by her. Consider this being achieved by a woman in the late 18th century. She must have been a diligent woman with many talents.
The frontispiece to ‘A Collection of Roses from Nature’ by Mary Lawrence
Exhibiting at The Royal Academy in 1795 and also in later years her painting skill should not be questioned. Exhibiting was important to her as the ability to do so gave her credibility as a botanical drawing teacher in her home city of London. It is recorded that she had ‘much personal charm’ (‘Genus Rosa’ p 92 Willmott 1910-1914) her classes were in great demand. It seems as well as being talented and personable she was acquainted with some well connected people who supported her in her ventures. The Royal Academician Joseph Farington recorded in his diary in 1804 that she met him at the Academy with a note of recommendation from Charles Greville, brother to Lord Warwick.
Miss Lawrence started compiling her Rose book in 1793, although the earliest plate is dated 1796. It was originally published in thirty parts as was usual at that time. It has been questioned as to how she managed to compile ninety different varieties of rose as the previous known number of twent-nine was listed by John Parkinson in the 17th century. (Paradisi in Sole Paradisi Terrestris 1629). Ellen Willmott (ref. above) suggests that Miss Lawrence was furnished with her roses by the nurseries of Lee and Kennedy who were the leading nursery of the day and situated in London not far from the Queen Anne Street home of Miss Lawrence. She records that other nurserymen also provided her with specimen roses as it was regarded as an honour for the owner and the rose to be painted by her.
In 1813 Mary Lawrence married Thomas Kearse. She continued to work and exhibit and did so until 1830. Willmott suggests she died at this time but it is possible that she stopped exhibiting only as her dates are recorded as 1776 – 1845.
Beautiful paintings from ‘A Collection of Roses from Nature’
Since the publication of a ‘Collection of Roses from Nature’ there has been both admiration and criticism expressed regarding her skill as a painter of roses. It seems that some feel it necessary to compare her paintings with those of Redoute who undoubtedly was one of the best, if not the best, painter of roses that has ever lived. Since the publication of ‘Les Roses’ (1817 – 1824) which includes beautiful paintings by him, comparisons of their work have been made and she does not fair too well being regarded as an enthusiastic amateur who did not have the requisite painting skills. Perhaps it is flattering though that it is thought that such a comparison could be made. It seems ironical that she made her living from painting and when her book was published demand far outstripped the publication numbers. Most copies are held by museums and libraries, with the Royal Horticultural Society Lindley Library holding one, but in 1958 a copy was sold by Sothebys for £840, in 1987 they sold a copy for £35,200 and at the present day there is a copy for sale in a London rare book shop for £50,000. Rather hefty prices for the works of an ‘amateur’. Perhaps her critics, such as Blunt ‘The Art of Botanical Illustration’ (1950) p 211 and Dunthorne ‘Flower and Fruit Prints of the 18th and early 19th Centuries’ would now realise that their unnecessary destructive criticism was ignored, if even read.
Considering the year of publication with its associated conditions such as the lack of electric light, the limited availability of materials, the limitations of printing techniques etc this commentary by Miss Willmott seems fair:
“Her book on roses was published in 1799, and the demand was far in excess of the number of copies printed. At the time it created much sensation, as nothing like it had been published before and Roses were beginning to take prominent place in gardens and were rapidly gaining in popularity. Miss Lawrance married Mr Kearse in 1813, but she continued exhibiting and giving lessons until her death in 1830. The admiration excited by her flower pictures was partly due to the purity and delicacy of their colouring. She always attached great importance to the quality of her colours which were all prepared at her own house and under her own supervision. The only other flower book published by her was ‘A Selection of Passion Flowers’ 1799-1800.”
Genus Rosa Vol. 1 p 92.