"Botanical illustration and flower painting are perhaps two of the most skilled and captivating forms of expression in the history of art and Irish artists have excelled in these fields. The author presents a general survey of the subject from an Irish standpoint, covering the period from 1729 to the end of the twentieth century and defining the styles and techniques of the individual artists. Considerable original research into both public and private collections has led to fascinating new insights into two hundred years of art history in which flower painters and botanical artists. past and present, have made a unique contribution. Throughout the book the author charts the triumphs, the solid achievements, the successes and failures in a series of concise biographies of over seventy artists ranging from the relatively unknown to the widely acclaimed. There is also a chapter on the work of professional and amateur Irish botanical artists working abroad in Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Jamaica and Burma. A short appendix relates how the original botanical drawing is translated into a variety of attractive print forms. There is currently a great revival of interest in botanical illustration and flower painting and this book is the first to chronicle the extensive and important Irish contribution to the two genres. It makes available for the first time to a wider public the work of Irish botanical illustrators and flower painters. " --Publisher description.