Lilium Carniolicum

Walter Hood Fitch prints show plants from the Himalayas to the Antarctic islands, drawn by the most prolific botanical artist of the Victorian age. Fitch made some 10,000 drawings, including 2,700 plates for Curtis's Botanical Magazine, and for decades he was the artist of Kew Gardens. Our collection of fine art prints includes his Himalayan rhododendrons, lilies, the giant rhubarb Rheum nobile and plates from the Antarctic voyage of the Erebus and Terror.

About Walter Hood Fitch

Walter Hood Fitch was born in Glasgow on 28 February 1817. He worked in fabric printing from the age of 17, until he met William Jackson Hooker, Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow and editor of Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Fitch's first lithograph appeared in the magazine in 1834, and he soon became its only artist.

When Hooker became director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in 1841, Fitch moved to London with him and became the artist for all of Kew's publications. He often drew straight onto the lithographic stone to save time, and could turn out up to 200 plates a year.

He drew Joseph Dalton Hooker's Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya (1849–51) and Illustrations of Himalayan Plants (1855), the plates for the Antarctic voyage of 1839–43, and Elwes's Monograph of the Genus Lilium (1877–80). A pay dispute ended his work for Kew in 1877, but he kept working until 1888. He died at Kew on 14 January 1892.

Style and Subjects

Fitch drew with speed and confidence. His plants are lively and full of movement, with leaves that twist and flowers that turn towards you, yet every detail needed for identification is there, often with small dissections of the flower set to one side.

Working as a lithographer, he gave his plates a crisp line and clear, rich colour, added by hand. The Himalayan plates in particular are bold and dramatic, with big rhododendron trusses in red, pink and cream.

Famous Works

• The Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya, Plate 1 (1849–51). The opening plate of Joseph Hooker's famous rhododendron book.
• Rheum nobile (1855). The towering Himalayan rhubarb, from Illustrations of Himalayan Plants.
• Begonia cathcartii (1855). A Himalayan begonia, drawn from the work of Indian artists for Illustrations of Himalayan Plants.
• Lilium superbum (1877–80). The American Turk's-cap lily, from Elwes's Monograph of the Genus Lilium.
• Lilium pardalinum (1877–80). The spotted leopard lily of California.
• Cryptogamic Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of the Erebus and Terror, Plate 2. Mosses and other small plants collected on the Ross expedition.
• Victoria Regia. His four lithographs of the giant water lily, praised as accurate and beautiful.

Decorating with Fitch Prints

Fitch's rhododendrons and lilies are bold enough to anchor a living room or dining room wall, and their reds, pinks and greens look fresh against white or pale green paint. A pair of lilies works well either side of a bed or a fireplace.

The Antarctic plates, with their delicate mosses and lichens, suit a study, bathroom or hallway, and look good as a small grid. Simple white, oak or gold frames keep the focus on the plants.

FAQ

Who was Walter Hood Fitch?

Walter Hood Fitch (1817–1892) was a Scottish botanical illustrator from Glasgow who made some 10,000 drawings, many of them for Kew Gardens and Curtis's Botanical Magazine.

How many plates did Fitch draw for the Botanical Magazine?

About 2,700 colour lithographs, and at his peak up to 200 plates a year.

What is Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya?

A book by Joseph Dalton Hooker (1849–51) on the rhododendrons he found in the Himalayas. Fitch turned Hooker's field sketches into the finished lithographs.

What are Fitch's most famous works?

His plates for Hooker's A Century of Orchidaceous Plants (1849), Bateman's Monograph of Odontoglossum (1864–74), the Rhododendrons of Sikkim-Himalaya and Elwes's Monograph of the Genus Lilium.

Is any plant named after Fitch?

Yes, the genus Fitchia. He was also made a fellow of the Linnean Society in 1857.

Related Artists

• William Jackson Hooker: his mentor, editor of the Botanical Magazine and director of Kew
• Pierre-Joseph Redouté: the great French botanical painter of the generation before
• James Sowerby: English botanical artist of the Botanical Magazine's early years
• John Gould: Victorian publisher of lithographed natural history plates