The Art and Science of Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero

September 16, 2025 - December 17, 2025

by Carrie Roy

This exhibition celebrates the extraordinary life and work of Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero, Costa Rican botanist, artist and educator.

Rodríguez (1915–1981) lived a life defined by artistic brilliance and scientific precision. Though his life was cut short by Hodgkin lymphoma at age 66, he left behind a staggering array of botanical illustrations, scientific writings, jewelry designs and humorous cartoons. A gifted artist and a devoted naturalist, Rodríguez refused to choose between science and art, embracing both equally.

The exhibition draws from the Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero papers, HI collection no. 376, donated to the Hunt Institute Archives in 2019. Highlights include notebooks from his graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley, jewelry designs crafted under the mentorship of French goldsmith Louis Ferón, botanical classroom illustrations, and original watercolors that demonstrate his dual mastery of art and science. His notebooks—hand-lettered with near-typeface precision and embellished with elegant, accurate illustrations—reveal the care and craft he brought to every page. One of the most remarkable components of this exhibition is the watercolors of orchids, selected from over 1,000 Rodríguez painted en plein air across Costa Rica, Central and South America. Created over 24 years, these paintings are not only visually exquisite but also scientifically rigorous. Several depict species that had not yet been formally described. This monumental work was posthumously published as Orquidéas en Acuarela: La Obra Inédita de Rafael Lucas Rodríguez Caballero (Cartago, Costa Rica, Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica, 2018).

Rodríguez also possessed a unique talent for making his work approachable and engaging for a broad audience. Whether through his scientific writing, his satirical faux-publication Bellea: The Journal to Devastate Botany (1952) or his whimsical pun-filled animal cartoons, he brought joy, clarity and meaning to the study of botany.

This exhibition marks Rodríguez's return to the Hunt Institute after more than half a century. His work was last featured here in the 2nd International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration (1968). We now invite the public to rediscover this polymath whose art and science continue to inspire.

The exhibition will be on display on the 5th floor of the Hunt Library building at Carnegie Mellon University and will be open to the public free of charge.

Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (except 17 October and 27–28 November). Because our hours of operation are occasionally subject to change, please call or email before your visit to confirm. For further information, contact the Hunt Institute at 412-268-2434.