Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum)

Art Historical Context

Mary Vaux Walcott'sLabrador Tea (Led groenlandicum)*, in 1905, the delicate beauty of this evergreen shrub native to North America's wetlands. A pioneering artist and naturalist1860–1940), Walcott created meticulously detailed botanical illustrations during her summer expeditions in the Rocky Mountains. Gifted by the artist to the Smithsonian American Art, this work exemplifies her dual passion for art and science, blending aesthetic grace with scientific precision. Walcott's paintings, primarily in watercolor, belong to the tradition of 19th- and early 20th-century botanical art, where accur...