Art Meets Science

02/10/2025

A jewel of Edo-period natural history, 'Gifts from the Ebb-Tide' (Shiohi no tsuto, 1789) presents an exquisite catalogue of marine molluscs, rendered with delicate hand-coloured woodblock prints and accompanied by poetic commentary.

This rare volume reflects a period when science, literature, and aesthetics were inseparably intertwined in Japanese scholarship. At once a taxonomic guide and a cultural artefact, it remains a singular expression of how nature was observed, classified, and revered.

Explore the beautiful original work: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/57648

01/10/2025

"A valuable treasure of botanical knowledge.”
—Waterhouse, 1811

Elizabeth Blackwell (1699–1758) occupies a distinctive place in the history of botanical illustration as the creator of 'A Curious Herbal', one of the most important illustrated herbals of the eighteenth century.

Born Elizabeth Blachrie in Aberdeen, she trained as an artist before marrying Alexander Blackwell (1700-1747), a man of questionable ventures. Her husband’s forays into medicine and publishing, both pursued without formal training, ended in failure and heavy fines. By the mid-1730s, he had accumulated debts that landed him in a London debtor’s prison in Hampstead, London. To raise the money needed for his release, Elizabeth embarked on a large-scale publishing project that would define her legacy.

Read more about her work on our latest blog:

The Role of Women in Botanical illustration Throughout history, women have played a vital yet often overlooked role in documenting… Read more

01/10/2025

Published in 1887, 'Geometrical Psychology' represents an ambitious and highly original attempt to visualise the evolution of human consciousness through mathematical form.

Conceived by Benjamin Betts and posthumously edited by Louisa S. Cook, this work presents a series of meticulously drawn geometric figures intended to represent stages of mental and spiritual development. Far from mere decorative abstractions, these diagrams were proposed as precise, visual models of internal processes—an effort to bridge the realms of psychology, philosophy, and mathematical logic.

Betts’s work stands as a compelling example of the 19th-century pursuit of synthesis between science and metaphysics—a visual theory of mind rendered through symmetry, proportion, and recursive form.

Explore the brilliant work: https://archive.org/details/geometricalpsych00cook/

30/09/2025

In a time when women were all but invisible in formal science, Anna Maria Hussey quietly revolutionised British mycology.

Her pioneering publication 'Illustrations of British Mycology' (1847–55) featured 140 hand‑coloured richly annotated plates, co-illustrated by her sister Frances Reed. Her radical fusion of art and taxonomy redefined how fungi were perceived in the nineteenth century.

Discover her story ahead of the new release: https://www.artmeetsscience.co/anna-maria-hussey-women-in-mycology/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hussey

29/09/2025

Using vivid diagrams and chromatic tables, Edward Youmans transformed the complexity of chemistry into a visual language anyone could understand. Molecules became maps. Reactions became rhythms. The atlas invited readers to not just learn chemistry, but to see it.

Explore Youmans' inspiring work: https://archive.org/details/chemicalatlasorc00youm/page/n8/mode/1up

28/09/2025

Before digital star maps or classroom projectors, there was 'Astronomy by Observation' (1886)—a quiet triumph of clarity and curiosity written by Eliza A. Bowen, one of the few women to teach college-level astronomy in 19th-century America.

Far from speculative theory or abstract formulae, it encouraged readers to go outside, look up, and learn the sky by sight. “Observation is the foundation of all astronomy,” Bowen quotes, and each lesson reinforced the idea that science begins with seeing.

Explore the original work: https://archive.org/details/astronomybyobser00bowerich/

27/09/2025

Mushroom Illustrations: History of Mycology Art

Published in 1922, Krieger’s essay pre-dates contemporary colour printing techniques, offering insight into the world when artisan techniques like lithography were considered cutting-edge in scientific documentation.

Read it here: https://www.artmeetsscience.co/mushroom-illustrations/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=hussey

26/09/2025

Born in 1878, Violet Dandridge would become one of the first women hired as a scientific illustrator by the Smithsonian Institution, producing meticulous and luminous renderings of marine invertebrates, crustaceans, and other delicate life forms gathered from coastal and deep-sea expeditions. Her work was not merely decorative—it was foundational, helping scientists convey what early photography could not.

Read more about her life and work: https://blog.library.si.edu/blog/2022/04/26/meet-serena-katherine-violet-dandridge-suffragist-and-scientific-illustrator/

25/09/2025

Explore how Ernst Haeckel turned marine organisms into ornate, symmetrical masterpieces—uniting scientific documentation with visual wonder: https://www.artmeetsscience.co/art-forms-in-nature-ernst-haeckel/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=haeckel

24/09/2025

We’re thrilled to share that our edition of Emily Vanderpoel's Color Problems has been featured in TOAST’s Autumn/Winter 2025 magazine 📖

First published in 1902 and beautifully reimagined by Art Meets Science, Vanderpoel’s visionary study of colour feels as inspiring today as it did over a century ago—a true celebration of the meeting point between art, science, and the everyday.

Thank you, TOAST, for spotlighting this timeless work.

Our edition of Color Problems is available now through our shop: https://bit.ly/46zUdID

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24/09/2025

In the blue shadows of her botanical prints, Anna Atkins forged a new path for science, art, and photography. Read our feature on her cyanotypes: https://www.artmeetsscience.co/anna-atkins-cyanotypes-photography/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=atkins

23/09/2025

Published in 1898, 'The Story of the Sun, Moon, and Stars' by Agnes Giberne is a luminous example of late-Victorian scientific literature written for young minds. Giberne was part of a pioneering group of science communicators who believed that astronomy could be rendered not only comprehensible, but compelling.

Illustrated with fine engravings, the book guides readers across the firmament: from the mechanics of eclipses and solar flares to the glimmering poetry of constellations and planetary motion. In an era before spaceflight, Giberne conjured galaxies through ink, imagination, and didactic finesse.

Discover the original work: https://archive.org/details/storyofsunmoonst00gibe