The Most Noble Mary Dutchess of Beaufort, Daughter to Arthur Lord Capell. Murder'd by ye Rebells, in 1648. Copper engraving by J Nutting after R Walker.
24.5 by 37 cms image. 27.5 by 40 cms Framed.
A portrait of Mary Somerset, the first Duchess of Beaufort (1630-1715), an accomplished gardener and prominent 17th.Century botanist in her own right. She sought solace in “natural learning” and tending plants, some cultivated in what she referred to as her “infirmary.” Her gardening activities were a refuge from bouts of depression. “When I get into storys of plants I know not how to get out.”
Among her introductions to British gardening are Pelargonium Zonale, Ageratum and Passiflora Caerulea.