Exhibition

Out of the Woods: Celebrating Trees in Public Gardens

This traveling exhibition of original botanical artworks spotlights one of the planet's most important and beautiful resources-its trees-as cultivated by botanical gardens and arboreta, highlighting the role public gardens play in engaging visitors with trees and their ecological and utilitarian roles.
Esmée Winkel, Leiden's 300-Year-Old Tulip Tree in Autumn (2016), Liriodendron tulipifera. Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. Watercolor on paper. © Esmée Winkel. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Esmée Winkel, Leiden's 300-Year-Old Tulip Tree in Autumn (2016), Liriodendron tulipifera. Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. Watercolor on paper. © Esmée Winkel. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Margaret Best, Screw-Pine (2017), Pandanus utilis, Bermuda Arboretum, Devonshire, Bermuda. Watercolor on paper, 18 ½ x 14 ¼ inches. © Margaret Best. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Margaret Best, Screw-Pine (2017), Pandanus utilis, Bermuda Arboretum, Devonshire, Bermuda. Watercolor on paper, 18 ½ x 14 ¼ inches. © Margaret Best. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Beverly Fink, Tree Aloe (2017), Aloe thraskii, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida. Watercolor on paper, 20 x 17 ½ inches. © Beverly Fink. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Beverly Fink, Tree Aloe (2017), Aloe thraskii, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida. Watercolor on paper, 20 x 17 ½ inches. © Beverly Fink. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Deborah Friedman, California Sycamore (2016), Platanus racemosa, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. Watercolor and ink on paper, 24 x 19 inches. © Deborah Friedman. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Deborah Friedman, California Sycamore (2016), Platanus racemosa, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. Watercolor and ink on paper, 24 x 19 inches. © Deborah Friedman. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

(Gold Medal Winner) Asuka Hishiki, Black Pine Half-Cascade-Style Bonsai (2015-2017), Pinus nigra, Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan. Oil on paper, 28 ¼ x 36 ½ inches. © Asuka Hishiki. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

(Gold Medal Winner) Asuka Hishiki, Black Pine Half-Cascade-Style Bonsai (2015-2017), Pinus nigra, Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan. Oil on paper, 28 ¼ x 36 ½ inches. © Asuka Hishiki. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Ann S. Hoffenberg, Paperbark Maple (2017), Acer griseum, Rutgers Gardens, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Watercolor on paper, 9 x 13 inches. © Ann S. Hoffenberg. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Ann S. Hoffenberg, Paperbark Maple (2017), Acer griseum, Rutgers Gardens, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Watercolor on paper, 9 x 13 inches. © Ann S. Hoffenberg. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

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Esmée Winkel, Leiden's 300-Year-Old Tulip Tree in Autumn (2016), Liriodendron tulipifera. Hortus Botanicus Leiden, Leiden, The Netherlands. Watercolor on paper. © Esmée Winkel. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.
Margaret Best, Screw-Pine (2017), Pandanus utilis, Bermuda Arboretum, Devonshire, Bermuda. Watercolor on paper, 18 ½ x 14 ¼ inches. © Margaret Best. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.
Beverly Fink, Tree Aloe (2017), Aloe thraskii, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, Sarasota, Florida. Watercolor on paper, 20 x 17 ½ inches. © Beverly Fink. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.
Deborah Friedman, California Sycamore (2016), Platanus racemosa, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, San Marino, California. Watercolor and ink on paper, 24 x 19 inches. © Deborah Friedman. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.
(Gold Medal Winner) Asuka Hishiki, Black Pine Half-Cascade-Style Bonsai (2015-2017), Pinus nigra, Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, Saitama, Japan. Oil on paper, 28 ¼ x 36 ½ inches. © Asuka Hishiki. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.
Ann S. Hoffenberg, Paperbark Maple (2017), Acer griseum, Rutgers Gardens, New Brunswick, New Jersey. Watercolor on paper, 9 x 13 inches. © Ann S. Hoffenberg. Courtesy of the American Society of Botanical Artists and the New York Botanical Garden.

Organized by The New York Botanical Garden and the American Society of Botanical Artists, this traveling exhibition of original botanical artworks spotlights one of the planet's most important and beautiful resources-its trees-as cultivated by botanical gardens and arboreta. The exhibition highlights the role public gardens play in engaging visitors with trees and their ecological and utilitarian roles, and also underscores the conservation, research, and scholarship being undertaken by these institutions.

From more than submitted entries 200, 43 artworks were selected for the exhibition, featuring images of trees from small county arboreta alongside those from some of the world's most renowned botanical gardens-including The Huntington. Working in watercolor, oil, graphite, colored pencil, and ink, an international collection of artists has depicting everything from seedpods to branches and bark to an entire forest floor. By bringing these subjects to life through their work, botanical artists create new pathways for communicating the value of plants in contemporary life.

"Out of the Woods" made its debut in the New York Botanical Garden's Ross Gallery (Nov 18, 2017-April 22, 2018) and will travel to three other venues after its stop at The Huntington: Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles, Missouri (Oct. 5-Dec. 28, 2018); Tucson Botanical Garden, Tucson, Arizona (Jan. 25 - April 13, 2019); and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Chaska, Minnesota (May 9 - Aug. 13, 2019).

Exhibition Catalog

Out of the Woods catalogAvailable in the Huntington Store.