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Della Purves

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Della Purves
Born(1945-07-06)6 July 1945
Paisley, United Kingdom
Died17 January 2008(2008-01-17) (aged 62)
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
NationalityBritish
Known forBotanical Illustration

Rodella Anne Purves (6 July 1945 – 17 January 2008) was a British botanical artist.[1]

Purves was born in 1945 in Paisley, Scotland, and two years later moved to Edinburgh with her family, where she attended St. Margaret's School. She received a degree in agriculture from Edinburgh and East of Scotland College of Agriculture. She trained at Cambridge as a seed tester.[1]

She spent a year in New Zealand, working for the government's Department of Industry, before returning to Edinburgh to work at the Royal Botanic Garden.[2]

Purves left the Botanic Garden in 1976 to concentrate on her career as a botanical artist. Her work was exhibited around the world, in the United States, Ireland, Japan and Germany, with the Queen's Royal Botanist describing her as one of Britain's leading artists.[2] She was awarded the Jill Smythies Award in 1998.[3]

Purves died on 17 January 2008 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Plant artist Rodella was number one in her field". The Scotsman. 18 February 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b c "Della blossomed into one of the country's best artists". The Scotsman. 8 February 2008. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ Tyrrell, Katherine. "The Jill Smythies Award". Botanical Arts and Artists. Retrieved 21 December 2020.