Work of world-famous botanical illustrator Francesca Anderson now part of art collection at Carnegie Mellon’s Hunt Institute

Francesca Anderson spent most of her productive life as a botanical illustrator while she was based in Brooklyn. Indeed, she remains a trustee of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and is the founder of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society, as well as a fellow of the internationally known Linnean Society. Having received two gold medals from the Royal Horticultural Society in London, she remains one of the world’s foremost botanical artists specializing in pen-and-ink drawings. She has been the subject of more than 20 solo shows and 60 group shows covering botanical art in the United States and abroad. And, she has illustrated numerous botanical books and journals.

Now, from her hometown of Pittsburgh, comes news that her work is part of the collection at the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation at Carnegie Mellon University.

Proudly hosting Anderson’s return to Pittsburgh, the Hunt Institute held a special ceremony and reception recently, welcoming Anderson’s artwork as part of their recent acquisitions. As noted on their website, “…this exhibition features major gifts by Francesca Anderson, Patricia Margaret Calhoun Rennie and John Wilkinson. The three artists are in our International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration series, and the donated artworks include pieces created before the Institute was founded through 2022.”In June 2021, Francesca Anderson donated…