Flora

Celebrated photographer Nick Knight gives us a new view of flowers and plants in this dazzling volume. Astounded by the beauty of the pressed flowers and plants he saw at the herbarium of the Natural History Museum in London, Knight spent three and a half years choosing from among the museum’s six million specimens. Having selected 46 as the most visually arresting, he captures them here with his camera in a book as fresh as the greatest works of botanical art and illustration.Engaging commentaries by curator Sandra Knapp describe Knight’s choices. In his preface, Knight marvels at the variety of forms and hues: “Some were like feathers of neon, breathtakingly delicate. . . others were like urban plans, architecturally precise . . . many were joyful splashes of color like children’s paintings, carefree, happy nonsense.” In Flora, the loveliness of the pressed plants and flowers, the graphic quality of the photographs, the elegance of the design, and the vividness of the color reproductions yield a sublime and stunning ensemble.