Umbrella Tree (Magnolia tripetala)
Medium
Painting
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the artist
Accession Number
1970.355.57
Tags
Art Historical Context
Mary Vaux Walcott's *Umbrella Tree (Magnolia tripetala)*, painted in 1932, captures the elegant drooping flowers and distinctive foliage of this native North American tree, also known as the umbrella magnolia. Walcott, a pioneering Quaker artist and amateur botanist (1860–1940), devoted decades to documenting wildflowers with scientific precision. Gifted by the artist to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, this work exemplifies her lifelong passion for blending art and natural history. Rendered in watercolor—a medium she mastered for its luminous transparency and detail—Walcott's painting sh...