Arnica (Arnica latifolia)

Art Historical Context

This delicate painting captures several stems of Arnica latifolia rising against a plain background. Bright yellow, daisy-like flowers with layered petals surround golden centers, while smaller blooms and rounded buds appear at different stages of opening. The artist has rendered the slender green stems, softly veined leaves, and fine hairs along the stalks with careful attention to their natural textures and overlapping forms. Mary Vaux Walcott created this work in 1904, and it belongs to the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Her botanical paintings document North American wildflowers with scientific precision and quiet beauty, helping viewers recognize species found in mountain meadows and alpine regions. The piece remains a valued record of both the plant and the artist’s patient observation in the field.