North, Marianne (1830–1890)

English naturalist and flower painter. Born at Hastings, England, on October 24, 1830; died at Alderly, Gloucestershire, on August 30, 1890; eldest daughter of a Norfolk landowner; descendant of Roger North (1653–1734).

Marianne North was born in Hastings, England, in 1830, the daughter of a Norfolk landowner. She trained as a vocalist under Madame Sainton Dolby , but her voice failed; she then devoted herself to painting flowers. After the death of her mother in 1855, she constantly traveled with her father, who was then member of Parliament for Hastings. When he died in 1869, North resolved to realize her early ambition of painting the flora of distant countries. In 1871–72, she went to Canada, the United States, and Jamaica, then spent a year in Brazil, where she did much of her work at a hut in the depths of a forest. In 1875, after a few months at Tenerife, she began a journey round the world, and for two years was occupied in painting the flora of California, Japan, Borneo, Java, and Ceylon. After another year spent in India, she returned and exhibited a number of her drawings in London. Her subsequent offer to present the collection to the botanical gardens at Kew was accepted, and new buildings, designed by James Ferguson, were erected for the exhibition.

At Darwin's suggestion, North went to Australia in 1880, and for a year painted there and in New Zealand. Her gallery at Kew was opened in 1882. In 1883, after she visited South Africa, an additional room was opened at the Kew gallery. In 1884–85, she worked at Seychelles and in Chile. North's careful, exact documentation of a far-ranging wealth of plant life remains an important part of the scientific record.