Photo by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Painting: Nepenthes Northiana by Marianne North. Public Domain.

• PAINTER
  
• Traveled the world for nearly thirty years to paint hundreds of plants
  
• DISCOVERED many new plant species
• Contrary to conventional botanical illustrators of the time, who pictured specimens isolated, she drew plants in their native settings and with native animals
• Traveled alone, without a chaperone, which was considered dangerous and uncivilized for a lady of her wealth and social stature
• Visited six continents and many countries, including Japan, Australia, Jamaica, United States, Brazil, Borneo, Java, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and South Africa
• Sent THOUSANDS of specimens to renowned botanist Sir Joseph Hooker
• Many plants were named after her (including the one pictured above, native to Borneo)
• When traditional galleries were reluctant to showcase her work, she designed and funded the construction of her own gallery, the Marianne North Gallery, housing more than 800 of her paintings
• Several of the plant species she painted are now extinct
• (By the way -- did you notice that the photograph above was taken by Julia Margaret Cameron?)

Not So Awesome

Though North often flouted the restrictions society placed on women, she did not support women's suffrage, writing in her diary that she "would be terribly bored by the possession of a vote."

Bibliography: Gates, Barbara T. "North, Marianne." The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History, Vol. 3, Oxford University Press, 2008, 357-358.
Ross, Michael E. A World of Her Own: 24 Amazing Women Explorers and Adventurers. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc., 2014. Print.
Birkett, Dea. (2019, March 30). Victorian lady travellers aren't feminist role models - they were tyrants. https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/03/victorian-lady-travellers-arent-feminist-role-models-they-were-tyrants/

---

Support this organization dedicated to preserving her story & mission:

Marianne North Gallery

Books by this Awesome Woman

Biographies for Kids and Young Adults

(picture book)

Research

Spread the word!

Meet more Awesome Women like this

Please note that while Awesome Women Library tries to include links only to media from reputable sources, we cannot attest to the quality or content of any media listed on this website. Our mission is to introduce you to these Awesome Women and give you a wide array of resources for learning more. We haven't read everything listed and are not a recommendation site, nor is this meant to be an exhaustive catalog of every book related to this woman -- there's just too much out there! Happy reading!!