Happy 223rd birthday, Anna Atkins! Your prints haven’t aged a minute.
Born on March 16th in 1799 (!!), the incomparable Ms. Atkins was a pioneering woman in many regards. As a botanist, she distinguished herself in a field of scientific study in an era when women weren't even allowed to be scientists. She is also widely credited as the creator of the first photography book, published in 1843. Atkins may have approached her organic subjects primarily as a scientist and documentarian, but the images she produced are both a celebration of nature and beautiful artworks in their own right. Her work continues to delight, inform, and inspire centuries later, which is why Anna Atkins Day is an annual event 'round these parts! (Speaking of inspo... don't miss our very own Caitlin Parker's gorgeous cyanotype editions.)
Yes, like most of the world, we’ve collected our fair share of plants during the pandemic. Snake plants. Peperomia. Weeping figs. Cacti. But we also brought more of Anna Atkins’s prints into our homes! And that has saved us a well’s worth of water. So invite the blue to wash over you and let Anna Atkins’s cyanotypes take root.
CRAVING MORE CYANOTYPES?
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