Plant Study: White-Flowered Orchid Spike, 1904

A watercolor of a slender flowering stem rising from a pair of long, pale green lanceolate leaves. Small white blossoms with narrow petals cluster along the upper spike, which fades to soft gray shading against a plain cream ground. The botanical study is rendered with precise, delicate brushwork.

Artist

Mary Vaux Walcott

Date

1904

Medium

watercolor on paper

Source

Smithsonian (Smithsonian American Art Museum)

Size

2139 × 3000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Smithsonian American Art Museum