Pleroma macranthum by Walter Hood Fitch, part of the Shirley Sherwood Collection to be displayed at Kew

The Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art is due to open in April this year at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in Surrey.

Believed to be the world’s only gallery dedicated to botanic art, the new gallery will be situated adjacent to the site’s existing Marianne North Gallery. When completed, it will feature two exterior glass walls to maximise the use of natural light and will display pieces from the Gardens’ extensive botanical art collection.

The Gardens’ collection includes works ranging from illustrated horticultural books from the 14th century and early renaissance to botanical paintings created for scientific study in the 18th and early 19th centuries.

The gallery will also house pieces from the private collection of leading botanist, Dr Shirley Sherwood, after whom the Gallery was named. These will include modern botanical paintings and illustrations by over 200 contemporary artists.

The new Gallery will be free to enter and groups are offered a discount on entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in which it is housed.

For further information telephone 020 8332 5655