Anna Atkins Botanical Study Tissue Paper

This botanical study is the first work by British artist Anna Atkins, representing the earliest photograph by a woman in the Museum's collection. Using the cyanotype process, Atkins captured sprigs of Spiraea aruncus, a Tyrolean flowering shrub. The cyanotype is part of an album gifted to her family friend and collaborator Anne Dixon in 1854. Atkins's photogram technique, documenting plant specimens, continues a tradition of botanical illustration. Her work bridges art and science, echoing the cameraless studies of William Henry Fox Talbot. This study holds significance as the daughter of the first Keeper of the Department of Natural History and Modern Curiosities at the newly established British Museum.