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BOULDER, Colo., Jan 17, 2007 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Anna Ophelia Todd Dowden, a popular botanical artist whose subjects ranged from sidewalk weeds to Shakespearean flowers, has died in Boulder, Colo. She was 99.
Dowden was recognized for the anatomical accuracy and beauty of her paintings, The New York Times said. She used only living materials as models and maintained extensive collections of preserved flowers and insects for reference.
Her career as a botanical illustrator and author led to more than 20 books, many directed to a younger audience. She wrote and illustrated many, although she also illustrated books for others, the Times said.
Subjects included poisonous plants, flower pollination, state flowers, and flowers mentioned in the Bible or in the works of Shakespeare.
Dowden's work was featured in museums and botanical gardens, including the Smithsonian, the New York Public Library and the Denver Art Museum.
Two of her books earned American Library Association awards. One, "Wild Green Things in the City: A Book of Weeds," was about native weeds that grow in New York.
Dowden, who died Thursday, was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond Baxter Dowden, an artist and college professor. They had no children.
URL: www.upi.com Copyright 2007 by United Press International
