Homerus Swallowtail Butterfly - Blake, Lady Edith (My University, 2008)
'Edith Osborne was born at Newtown, Anner, Ireland in 1845, into a family of moderately wealthy land owners. She developed an interest in painting at an early age and was much encouraged by her family and also by artists such as the Swiss landscape artist Alexandre Calame and the Thomas Shotter Boys who visited the family home. Throughout her travels with her husband, Edith Blake took an avid interest in the fauna and flora. It was during her time in Jamaica that she was able to combine her artistic abilities and her interest in butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) to produce a collection of nearly 200 watercolours.' (www.nhm.ac.uk) This watercolour has the following inscribed in the lower right corner of the image: 'Caterpillar attached itself to branch 29th Nov / Chrysalis formed 2nd Dec / Butterfly emerged 29th Dec 1893'
Keywords: Homerus Swallowtail butterflies; Art--Irish; Still-life painting--19th century; Botanical illustration--Ireland.; Butterflies--Life cycles.; Papilionidae; Papilionidae--Life cycles.; 19th century