The Oakes Ames Orchid Watercolor Collection Exhibited at Filoli April 5th-June 12th

Charles Storer

Cypripedium Curtisii, 1898

Original Watercolor

13 7/8" x 9 7/8"

We are excited to announce our presence at Filoli's Annual Botanial Art Exhibition from April 5th-June 12th showcasing the gallery's fine original watercolor works from Oakes Ames' Orchid Collection.

Artist Reception

Thursday, April 7, 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

For ticket and reservations: Click Here

Filoli is a "654–acre property, including the 36,000 square foot Georgian country house and spectacular 16–acre English Renaissance garden. Admission to Filoli allows visitors to explore the historic House and Garden at their leisure. The Filoli Botanical Art Exhibit has long been an essential part of our Botanical Art Program’s mission to interpret and preserve this historically significant art form. With its exquisite formal Garden, heirloom orchard and nature preserve, Filoli is a unique and fitting venue for this historical art form that has rendered plants throughout history and from around the world.  In the historic House a collection of botanical illustrations will be on display in the elegant Ballroom and select pieces will be displayed in the Trophy Room."

Orchids and Oakes Ames

Blanche Ames

Cypripedium Kimballianum, 1900

Original Watercolor

14" x 10"

The incredible Oakes Ames collection of watercolor orchids was gifted to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society by famed botanist Oakes Ames (1874 - 1950). Through his life’s work on the orchid family, he and his wife Blanche unveiled the mysteries of this strangely beautiful plant species to the rest of the world. These gorgeous and delicate watercolors were part of Ames’ personal collection of orchid paintings, featuring works by the botanist himself, his wife Blanche, Charles Storer, J.L. Macfarlane, Putzys, and several by unidentified artists.  As part of his exhaustive research on orchids, Ames made expeditions to Florida, the Caribbean, the Philippines, and Central and South America with his wife, creating scientific drawings and watercolors of each plant they cataloged. The Ames' work was published in the seven-volume Orchidicae: Illustrations and Studies of the Family Orchidicae. 

To purchase Ames' watercolors you see at Filoli  please call 415-788-5115. 
Arader Galleries, at 435 Jackson Street, San Francisco.