2023 Gail Goodrich Harwood - American Society of Botanical Artists

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Gail Goodrich Harwood

James J. White Service Award for Dedication to Botanical Art

ABOVE & BEYOND

Story by CLAUDIA LANE

Gail Goodrich Harwood, right, accepts the James White Service Award presented to her by Awards Committee Chairman Catherine Watters, on left, and Lara Call Gastinger, on right, at the 2023 Mobile Conference.

Gail Goodrich Harwood was honored with the James White Service Award for Dedication to Botanical Art at the 2023 Annual Conference in Mobile. The Awards Committee had the audience guessing as they presented clues to the recipient. But it did not take long for the audience to identify Gail because her contributions have been sustained and unique! The clincher was her service as ASBA’s Acting Executive Director for most of 2022. When the organization most needed it, Gail stepped up during Executive Director Jody Williams’s temporary absence. Gail put leadership skills that she sharpened in the corporate world to full use on our behalf.

Prior to that, her energy and out-of-the-box thinking were on full display as she led the most recent Strategic Plan review, refining our focus on conservation and the power of botanical art to influence a “greener” mindset for ecological stewardship.

Gail served as vice president of ASBA, president of the Botanical Art Society of the National Capital Region (BASNCR), and is a member of the Central Virginia Botanical Artists. Among our committees, Bylaws and the Green Committee have benefited from her participation. She also chaired the Artist Grants Program Committee.

On top of her professional expertise, Gail is a superb artist and earned a certificate in Botanical Illustration from Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. Her creative activities include exhibiting her flower arrangements and fiber art (such as a needle-felted magnolia). She is also an avid gardener.

Gail joins a group of impressive previous honorees who are listed on our website, stretching back to 1996. Each served with distinction and Gail is an exemplary member of this distinguished group. Thank you, Gail!

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ “Fine Art and Flowers.” Gail was invited to participate as a floral designer to interpret works selected by the museum, in this case—“Sunset” by George Innes.