Maud H. Purdy

Place: Philadelphia

Born: 1873

Death: 1965

Biography:

Maude H. Purdy (1873-1965) was an American botanical artist and illustrator. She studied at the Philadelphia Institute of Art and later moved to Brooklyn, New York, where she opened a salon on Bedford Avenue near the Pratt Institute. Purdy taught young women the art of painting and also designed textiles and tapestries, decorated china and ceramics. In 1913, she was hired by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, where she collaborated with the institution for over 30 years, illustrating popular books such as Fundamentals of Botany, All About African Violets, and All About Houseplants. Her most impressive project for the Garden was a series of 40 paintings of Japanese irises, which were exhibited at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Purdy also produced pen-and-ink illustrations of plants collected during the 1930 Astor expedition to the Galápagos Islands.