Mary Delany

Selected Works

An illustration of a plant with long, drooping, dark green leaves and pink and yellow flowers with wavy or curly petals and long yellow stamens.

Gloriosa Superba

1772–82
Mary Delany, Gloriosa Superba, 1772–82. Collage of colored papers with bodycolor and watercolor on black ink background, 31.1 x 20.1 cm. British Museum
British Museum

A plant specimen showing dark green, oval-shaped leaves and small white flowers with pink centers and long yellow stamens.

Aeschelus Hippocastanum

1776
Mary Delany, Aeschelus Hippocastanum, 1776. Collage of colored papers with bodycolor and watercolor on black ink background, 32.1 x 22.2 cm. British Museum
British Museum

A drawing of a flower with three straight, narrow green leaves behind it. The flower has two drooping petals that are purple with white veins, while the rest of the petals are upright and white.

Iris Squalens

1776
Mary Delany, Iris Squalens, 1776. Collage of colored papers with bodycolor and watercolor on black ink background, 32.3 x 22.7 cm. British Museum
British Museum

One long dark green leaf is depicted behind a plant cutting with five flowers on the stem. Each flower has six thin, drooping white petals and six yellow stamens, making them resemble a firework.

Cactus Grandiflorus

1778
Mary Delany, Cactus Grandiflorus, 1778. Collage of colored papers with bodycolor and watercolor on black ink background, 34.4 x 23.8 cm. British Museum
British Museum

A plant illustration showing a large, dark green heart-shaped leaf and three smaller stems with bulbous ends, two of which have yellow pointed growths. Alongside this image is a detail of one of the bulbs, which shows the yellow growth and the brush-like growth inside.

Arum Esculentum

1780
Mary Delany, Arum Esculentum, 1780. Collage of colored papers with bodycolor and watercolor on black ink background, 34.6 x 23.9 cm. British Museum
British Museum

Continue Exploring

View artist biography
View artist timeline