Sun Dial Lupine (Lupinus perennis)

Art Historical Context

Sun Dial Lupine (Lupinus perennis), painted by Mary Vaux Walcott in 1919, offers a precise and luminous portrait of this native North American wildflower. Walcott, a noted artist-naturalist, specialized in botanical subjects, using careful observation to record the plant’s distinctive palm-like leaves and slender spikes of blue-purple blooms. This work belongs to the long tradition of scientific illustration, where art and natural history intersect. Created just after World War I, it reflects growing public interest in preserving America’s native flora at a time when many species were being d...