Natural History Illustrators - Olivia Tonge
Between 1908 and 1913, Olivia Tonge travelled India and part of what is now Pakistan, illustrating the world around her in vibrant watercolour renditions. Whilst her work is beautiful and rich in colour, it may not be the most scientifically accurate. Despite this, the notes she wrote alongside her paintings are insightful and eye-opening, especially to someone like me who doesn't have much knowledge of cultural history. And that's another thing that I admire about Tonge's work; she documented a wide variety of subjects from fauna and flora to jewellery, food and small local creations such as the 'Hill Man's Impromptu Pipe' (see below image). I love Tonge's work for the little insights into the past. Packets of Betel Nut and Hill Men's Pipes are things that I doubt I would have ever known existed without her illustrations and brief but lucid notations. Especially as a concept artist, I find these to spark an abundance of ideas. Sometimes...