Monarda didyma/Scarlet Lion's Tail

The Hon. William Booth Grey

ca. 1791 (?) · Paper mosaic: cut piece of laid paper colored with watercolor, laid onto a supporting sheet colored entirely with black ink and marked with a white paper label · Drawings and Prints

The style and technique of this collage derive from Mary Delany. The Grey family was certainly in Delany’s circle; in fact, four of her works are annotated as plants she received from a "Mr. B. Grey" (now in the British Museum). Inspired by her method of cut-paper mosaic, Booth Grey additionally employed watercolor to denote details and shading in his specimens. This collage was included in a collection annotated "90 Plants / done by the / Honble Booth Grey" that descended in the Grey family. There are two candidates for its possible author as family members shared the same name and title.

Artist

The Hon. William Booth Grey

Date

ca. 1791 (?)

Medium

Paper mosaic: cut piece of laid paper colored with watercolor, laid onto a supporting sheet colored entirely with black ink and marked with a white paper label

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Mary Martin Fund, 2005