Botanical Illustration and Art: Author Talk
Join Te Papa Press for this free event that will deep-dive into the history, significant figures and contemporary developments in botanical art and illustration.
When | Āhea
Tue 26 May 2026, 5.30pm to 6.30pm
Where | Ki hea
Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui | Wellington's Central Library
Ngā Pou Ruahine (L2)
65 Victoria Street, Wellington, New Zealand 6011
Cost | Te utu
Free
Age
All ages
We'll explore the fascinating and stunning visual pages of Flora: Celebrating Our Botanical World and Groundwork: The Art and Writing of Emily Cumming Harris, with authors Rebecca Rice and Catherine Field-Dodgson.
About the speakers
Dr Rebecca Rice is Senior Curator Art at Te Papa. In her curatorial practice and research, Rebecca is committed to rethinking the legacies of Aotearoa New Zealand’s colonial visual archive. She brings her historical knowledge to bear when also writing on and speaking about modern and contemporary art. Her current research focuses on nineteenth-century women botanical artists, the visual culture of the New Zealand Wars, and the impact of impressionism on New Zealand artists at home and abroad.
Rebecca is co-author with Matariki Williams of Ngā Tai Whakarongorua | Encounters, awarded AAANZ Best small exhibition catalogue in 2021, and co-editor of Te Ata ō Tu: The Shadow of Tūmatauenga ӏ The New Zealand Wars Collections of Te Papa, shortlisted for the Ockham New Zealand's Best Illustrated Non-fiction book, 2025.
Catherine Field-Dodgson (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Te Aitanga a Mahaki) is the author of a 2003 Master’s thesis that included the first detailed study of Emily Harris’s exhibiting practices. She is active in community and environmental organisations and a beginner learner of te reo Māori. She is currently researching her great-great-grandmother Keita Halbert/Wyllie/Gannon and her connections to Tūranga.
Please note: This event is at Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui | Wellington’s Central Library.
Authors Catherine Field-Dodgson and Rebecca Rice