Victorian artist Marianne North travelled the globe for her art. She donated 832 paintings of flowers, animals, landscapes and birds to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew, which housed them in a building dedicated to her.
She envisaged future artists taking up residency but that was not realised for 150 years. Jo Self is Kew's first Artist in Residence. Woman's Hour visited her last winter, and she told us how some of the old Victorian greenhouses were decidedly spooky. Jo has a new exhibition '... After the Storm Recent Works from the Urban Garden' which runs from 9 September until 9 October 2003 at the Redfern Gallery, London. Flowers By Jo Self with contributions from Cathy Courtney, Sarah Kent, Will Self and Elspeth Thompson published by Frances Lincoln ISBN No: 0 7112 2219 3
