Rhona Brown (September 23, 1922 - March 14, 2014), was a South African

botanical artist Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...

. Brown was educated at

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu- ...

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

and

UNISA The University of South Australia is a Public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1991, it is the successor of the former South Australian Institute of Technology. Its main campuses along ...

graduating with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

(Hons.) in

Fine Arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

and with a National Art Teachers Certificate. She worked at the Botanical Research Institute in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

for two spells - 1944-46 and 1965–69 and taught sporadically for eight years. She completed some 100 plates for the ''Flowering Plants of Africa'' and black-and-white illustrations for ''Bothalia'' and ''Flora of Southern Africa''. She provided about half of all illustrations for Palmer & Pitman's ''Trees of Southern Africa'' and all the illustrations for Eve Palmer's ''Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa''. She married Comdt. Horatio Theophilus Collett on 2 March 1946.

Publications

*1972 ''Trees of Southern Africa'' by Eve Palmer & Norah Pitman, illustrated By Rhona Collett (3 vols.) *1977 ''A Field Guide to the Trees of Southern Africa'' by Eve Palmer, illustrated By Rhona Collett (William Collins & Sons Ltd.) *Calligraphy Teachers Manual - Rhona Collett et al.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Rhona 1922 births 2014 deaths 20th-century South African women artists 21st-century South African women artists University of Natal alumni University of South Africa alumni South African botanical illustrators South African painters