Artwork
American Turk's-cap lily (Lilium superbum)
American Turk's-cap lily (Lilium superbum) is a watercolor work on paper by the Baroque artist Georg Dionysus Ehret. It dates from 1744 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
Ehret worked in the 1740s, when accurate plant images mattered for science and gardens.
This watercolor shows a precise study of the American Turk’s-cap lily. The plant’s nodding orange flowers and spotted leaves are painted with care. Ehret worked in the 1740s, when accurate plant images mattered for science and gardens.
Ehret helped spread a new naming system from Carl Linnaeus. He recorded when this lily first bloomed in a London garden in 1738.
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Overview
Georg Dionysius Ehret’s watercolor depicts the American Turk’s‑cap lily (Lilium superbum) with meticulous attention to its nodding orange blossoms and speckled foliage. Executed in the 1740s, the work exemplifies the scientific precision demanded by contemporary botanical illustration.
Subject & Meaning
The study records the lily’s first observed flowering in August 1738 within the garden of Peter Collinson, a prominent horticulturist near London. By documenting this event, Ehret provides a visual reference for a species newly introduced to English gardens.
Technique & Style
Rendered in watercolor, the image combines fine linear detail with subtle washes of colour, capturing both the texture of the leaves and the delicate translucency of the petals. This approach reflects Ehret’s mature style, balancing artistic finesse with botanical accuracy.
History & Provenance
A closely similar version of the same composition bears the date 1745, indicating that the work belongs to a series produced during Ehret’s most productive period. The illustration was later reproduced by Dr. C. J. Trew in his multi‑volume Plantae Selectae, published in Nuremberg between 1750 and 1773.
Context
Ehret’s career coincided with the spread of Carl Linnaeus’s binomial nomenclature. As an advocate for the new classification system, he supplied images for several influential botanical texts, helping standardise plant identification across Europe.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Georg Dionysius Ehret painted plants. In the 1700s he brushed watercolors of cacti, parrots, and lilies with sharp, clean lines and soft colors. His Cereus Cactus shows a spiky green stem crowned by a pale flower. Flip…
