Four hundred gouache illustrations, 40 sketchbooks, and 15 diaries compose the botanical archive left behind by Margaret Mee. Her career spanned decades, transitioning from a draughtswoman at a de Havilland aircraft factory during the Second World War to an artist documenting the complex flora within the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, specifically focusing on the Amazonas state region.
Early Career and Political Activism
Born in 1909 in Chesham, Mee attended Dr Challoner's Grammar School and later studied in Watford. In 1933, she observed political unrest in Berlin while visiting Germany. Upon returning to Britain, she married Reginald Bruce Bartlett and became an active member of the Communist Party and a union representative. She once addressed the TUC in 1937 regarding educational reform before shifting her professional focus toward the arts.
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Following the war, she enrolled at Saint Martin's School of Art and the Camberwell College of Arts, earning a national diploma in painting and design in 1950. She moved to Brazil in 1952 to teach art in São Paulo. By 1956, she conducted her first expedition to Belém, later accepting a position as a botanical illustrator for the Instituto de Botanica in 1958.
Amazonian Expeditions and Conservation
Mee focused her efforts on the Amazon Basin, documenting numerous plant species. Her work gained international prominence through the publication of Flowers of the Brazilian Forests in 1968. Beyond her artistic contributions, she publicly protested large-scale mining and deforestation. Her final expedition aimed to locate the elusive Selenicereus cacti, commonly referred to as the Amazon Moonflower.
Final Years and Legacy
She returned to London in 1988 to publish her collected diaries. She died in a car crash in Seagrave, Leicestershire, on 30 November 1988. Her work remains largely housed within the collections at Kew Gardens.
Fast facts
- Born: 1909, Chesham
- Died: 1988, Seagrave
- Education: Camberwell College of Arts; St Martin's School of Art
- MBE Awarded: 1976
- Order of the Southern Cross: 1979
- Fellow of the Linnean Society: 1986
Questions readers ask
What was the focus of Margaret Mee's artistic work?
She specialized in painting plants found within the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, creating hundreds of gouache illustrations and sketchbooks.
Did she receive recognition for her environmental advocacy?
Yes, she was recognized for her efforts to bring international attention to deforestation and mining in the Amazon region.
Achievements
- Member of the Order of the British Empire — 1976
- Order of the Southern Cross — 1979
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