[The following documents describe the programs and facilities envisioned for the proposed Smithsonian Center for Botanical Art and Illustration.]

The Smithsonian Center for Botanical Art and Illustration is proposed as a unique facility to promote, develop and curate the collections of botanical art and illustration in the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History. The goals of this new Center will be to encourage and enable the formation of critical collaborations between contemporary botanical artists and leading research scientists, cultivate public appreciation of botanical art through exhibits, publications, and events, and preserve the rich tradition of botanical illustration through the establishment of a permanent Smithsonian collection. The Center will establish in the Department of Botany at the Smithsonian a significant collection of botanical art and illustration in conjunction with the U.S. National Herbarium and the Botany and Horticulture Library.

• Background on the Smithsonian’s Botanical Art and Illustration Collection.
• Structure of the Center: The Botanical Art and Illustration Archives.
• Annual Botanical Art and Illustration Exhibit.
• Smithsonian Botanical Art and Illustration Workshop.
• Smithsonian Award for Excellence in Botanical Art and Illustration.
• Botanical Artists-in-Residence.
• Administration and Staffing of the Center: Endowed Chair of Botanical Art and Illustration.

The full report on the purpose and activities of the Center is also available as a .pdf file (3.7 MB).