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The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture will host a lecture by nationally known expert Barney L. Lipscomb on Wednesday, October 22.

The event will be at 4:30 p.m. with a 5:30 p.m. reception to follow.

Lipscomb, the Dorothea L. Leonhardt Chair of Texas Botany at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, will present the talk “A Botanist’s Eye: Redouté and the Art of Floral Illustration.”

The lecture, given in honor of the temporary exhibit Birds, Bugs, and Blooms: Natural History Illustration from the 1500s–1800s, looks at the magnificent history and evolution of art and botanical science from the first century AD through the life of Pierre-Joseph Redouté. Redouté, whose work is featured in Birds, Bugs, and Blooms, was one of the greatest botanical illustrators and flower painters of all time. The talk places his work against the social and historical background of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century delight in the exotic, which brought a fascination throughout Europe with new plants and animals from distant places.

Lipscomb’s program will be filled with incredible visuals and bring together the themes of history, art, and science. It will appeal to art lovers, gardeners, horticulturists, florists, botanists, history buffs, and anyone with curiosity in botanical art and science.

The 5:30 p.m. open house reception following the lecture will give attendees the opportunity to meet the visiting speaker, as well as the exhibit curator and the museum’s new coordinator of academic programs, Lindsey Waugh.

The McClung Museum is located at 1327 Circle Park Drive. Museum admission is free, and the museum’s hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. Free two-hour museum parking passes are available from the parking information building at the entrance to Circle Park Drive on the weekdays. Free public transportation to the museum is also available via the Knoxville Trolley Vol Line.

Additional parking information is available online.

For more information about the McClung Museum and its collections and exhibits, visit the website.

CONTACT:

Catherine Shteynberg (865-974-6921, cshteynb@utk.edu)