FRANCESCA ANDERSON

2018 ASBA James White Service Award for Dedication to Botanical Art

by Carol Woodin

On the 25th Anniversary of ASBA, the awards committee thought it would be fitting to choose an honoree who has been closely connected with ASBA since its early days. Francesca Anderson, who became a member at ASBA’s founding and served on the board from 1999-2005, during a pivotal time in its history, is that person. When ASBA took its first formal office space, Francesca facilitated our move to New York City’s Salmagundi Club, which has housed various national arts organizations since 1917. We occupied that fascinating home for over five years.

Francesca Anderson also served as a trustee of Brooklyn Botanic Garden for over 25 years, and in 2000, founded the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, America’s first florilegium project. With Francesca serving as its president, and Patricia Jonas, then BBG’s Director of Library Services, as curator of the collection, the Florilegium became a source of joy for the garden. The Florilegium Society saw several milestones, including mounting annual exhibitions of new acquisitions, hosting workshops, and traveling an exhibition of a selection of the Florilegium’s paintings to the Shirley Sherwood Gallery, the Hunt Institute, and to Berlin’s Dahlem Museum in Germany. The Florilegium artworks, created by 50 artists selected from around the country, is held in the Library’s Rare Book Room.

Francesca came to all of this via her own career as a natural history artist, mainly working in pen and ink and scratchboard. Her vigorous and dramatic drawings of plants and birds have been exhibited at such storied venues as Harvard University, the Lindley Library of the RHS, and in the Shirley Sherwood Collection. She volunteered for many years at the New York Botanical Garden’s Institute for Ethnobotany, documenting more than 100 ethnobotanical subjects and palms in pen and ink scientific illustrations, when funding for illustrations could not be secured. A Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, she holds an MA from Hunter College and an MFA from Brooklyn College. She received two Gold Medals and a Silver Gilt Medal from the RHS, the 2009 Diane Bouchier Founder’s Award for Excellence in Botanical Art, and many other awards.

Francesca served as a member of ASBA’s nominating and exhibitions committees, and has juried several exhibitions. She sponsors the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Award for a Print or Drawing, given at each Annual International since 2010. Always encouraging and supportive of other artists, she is a warm and welcoming friend, hosting many gatherings of botanical artists, both formal and informal. We feel fortunate that she has offered her engagement all of our 25 years, and are happy to recognize Francesca’s many contributions and achievements with this award!