Rosa M. Towne

Rosa M. Towne (c. 1827 – December 3, 1909) was an American painter.

Rosa M. Towne
Towne's depictions of holly and mistletoe
Born	1827
Died	December 3, 1909  (aged 81–82)
Occupation	Artist
Family	Ann Sophia Towne Darrah, Laura Matilda Towne, John Henry Towne

Rosa M. Towne was born in about 1827, the daughter of John Towne, a wealthy businessman, and Sarah Robinson Towne.^[1] Her siblings included artist Ann Sophia Towne Darrah, educator Laura Matilda Towne, and engineer John Henry Towne.^[1][2]

Towne is best known for her botanical watercolors.^[2] Between 1888 and 1898, Towne completed 73 paintings of 182 plants, all of the plants mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. Oakes Ames purchased them for the Harvard Botanical Museum and his successor Richard Evans Schultes published reproductions of them as Plant Lore of Shakespeare (1974).^[3]

John Henry Towne built a memorial fountain in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania dedicated to her work with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.^[1]

Rosa M. Towne died on December 3, 1909.^[1]

References

1. "The Philadelphia Inquirer 22 Aug 1910, page Page 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
2. Rubinstein, Charlotte Streifer (1982). American women artists : from early Indian times to the present. Internet Archive. New York, N.Y. : Avon ; Boston, Mass. : G.K. Hall. ISBN 978-0-8161-8535-1.
3. Tabor, Edward (October 6, 2021). "The Paintings Behind the Books in the Harvard Botanical Museum". Harvard Magazine.