“FOLLOWING IN THE BARTRAMS’ FOOTSTEPS” CELEBRATES BOTANICAL LEGACY OF JOHN AND WILLIAM BARTRAM
Early American explorers, John Bartram and his son, William, traversed the eastern wilderness of the American colonies from the 1730s to the 1790s, recording the region’s flora, fauna, and Native American culture. A new traveling exhibition, Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps: Contemporary Botanical Artists Explore the Bartrams’ Botanical Legacy, comes to Atlanta in spring 2014, featuring world-class, contemporary botanical artwork depicting plants discovered and introduced by two generations of the Bartram family. The plant portraits reflect John and William Bartram’s passionate observation and discovery of nature, which has influenced generations of artists and explorers throughout the world.
Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps, presented by the Cherokee Garden Library at the Atlanta History Center, is on display in McElreath Hall, March 19 - June 17, 2014. The exhibition is open Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm; Sunday, Noon – 5:00 pm; free to the public.
A companion exhibition featuring holdings from the Cherokee Garden Library and Atlanta History Center collections will include historic books, such as William Bartram’s Travels (1791) and William Stork’s A Description of East-Florida with a Journal Kept by John Bartram of Philadelphia, Botanist to His Majesty for the Floridas (1769); rare maps of the Southeast; and artifacts of Native American culture.
An outdoor living component in the Mary Howard Gilbert Memorial Quarry Garden of the Atlanta History Center brings the exhibition artwork to life, featuring the very plants that are depicted and many more the Bartrams studied and documented. Arguably the most important of the hundreds of plants they found on their travels was the Franklin tree, Franklinia alatamaha, which is now believed to be extinct in the wild. The State Champion Franklin tree is in the Quarry Garden and will be a central feature to this outdoor exhibition.
Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps was organized by the American Society of Botanical Artists at the New York Botanical Garden in collaboration with Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia. Local lead sponsors are Lee and Mike Dunn, Harry Norman, Realtors, and the Mimosa Garden Club. Additional sponsors include Arbormedics, Cherokee Garden Club Community Fund, Gay Construction Co., Louise S. Gunn, and Libby and Ernie Prickett.
Considered the “Father of American Botany,” John Bartram (1699 - 1777) was a prominent early American horticulturist and explorer. His eight-acre botanic garden in Philadelphia is frequently cited as the first true botanic collection in North America. He was one of the co-founders, with Benjamin Franklin, of the American Philosophical Society in 1743.
John’s third son, William Bartram (1739 - 1823), traveled with his father as a boy and young man, and became a prominent naturalist, artist, and explorer in his own right. In 1773, William departed on a four-year journey from the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains to Florida and from the interior of the Southeast to the edge of the Mississippi River. His journal, Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, is an American classic and invaluable record of the eighteenth-century environment of the southeastern region. Today, the Bartram Trail follows the approximate route of his journey through the Southeast and includes trails in the states of North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
Following in the Bartrams’ Footsteps engages a wide range of audiences, including those interested in botanical art, science, history, and nature. The experience will foster a deeper understanding of our shared horticultural heritage and heighten our respect for the natural world in the twenty-first century.
For more information, visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. Docent-led group tours are available for a fee and by appointment. Please email GroupTours@AtlantaHistoryCenter.com for more information.
ABOUT THE CHEROKEE GARDEN LIBRARY:
Founded by the Cherokee Garden Club of Atlanta, the Cherokee Garden Library, one of the special subject libraries of the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center, opened in 1975 to serve as an educational resource center for those interested in gardening, landscape design, garden history, horticulture, floral design, botanical art, cultural landscapes, natural landscapes, and plant ecology. Over 28,000 books, photographs, manuscripts, seed catalogs, and landscape drawings are included in the Cherokee Garden Library collection. Serving over 6,000 researchers annually, these rare and valuable resources tell the story of American horticulture and botanical history in the Southeastern United States and areas of influence throughout America, Europe, and Asia. While the collection is a focal point, the Garden Library also attracts a community of people who enjoy the year-round calendar of lectures, exhibitions, tours, and collaborations with partner agencies. For information about the Cherokee Garden Library, call 404.814.4046 or visit AtlantaHistoryCenter.com/CherokeeGardenLibrary.
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