Zenobia (Zenobia cassinifolia)

Art Historical Context

Mary Vaux Walcott's *Zenobia (Zenobia cassinifolia)*, painted in 1927, captures the delicate beauty of this rare North American shrub, known for its glossy leaves and bell-shaped flowers. Donated by the artist herself to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, this painting exemplifies Walcott's lifelong passion for documenting wildflowers with scientific precision and artistic grace. As part of the Smithsonian Collection, it invites visitors to appreciate the intersection of botany and fine art. Walcott, a pioneering Canadian-American artist and naturalist (1860–1940), created hundreds of such ...