Catherine Gage
Catherine Gage (18 May 1815 – 16 February 1892) was an Irish botanist, botanical and ornithological illustrator.[1][2]
Catherine Gage | |
---|---|
Born | 18 May 1815 |
Died | 16 February 1892 76) | (aged
Resting place | Rathlin Island |
Known for | botanical and ornithological illustration |
Notable work | illustrated Birds of Rathlin Island |
Parent(s) | Rev. Robert Gage, Catherine Boyd |
Life
Catherine Gage was born in County Down on 18 May 1815,[3] the daughter of Rev. Robert Gage and Catherine Boyd.[4] Gage lived her entire life in the family home, Manor House on Rathlin Island.[5] Gage died 16 February 1892 and was buried on Rathlin Island.[6]
Illustration work
Gage seems to have devoted a large portion of her life to illustrating a book by her brother Robert Gage on the birds of Rathlin Island that was never published.[7] The book was styled on that of John James Audubon's The Birds of America.[7] During the course of this work she produced over five hundred watercolours of birds.[1] She also illustrated local plants, creating a list for the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, the abstract for which was published in the 1850 Annals and Magazine of Natural History.[6] She also worked with her sister, Barbara Gage (1817–1859), illustrating the local flora as well as the fauna.[8]
When the folio of bird illustrations was auctioned in 2010, they were sold for €13,500.[9]
References
- Newmann, Kate. "Catherine Gage (1815 - 1892): Artist". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- Praeger, Robert Lloyd (1949). Some Irish Naturalists: A Biographical Notebook. Dundalk: Dundalgan Press. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- "Catherine Gage". The Peerage. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- Newmann, Kate. "Catherine Gage (1791 - 1852): Historian". Dictionary of Ulster Biography. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- McCurdy, John; McCurdy, Jennifer. "Island History". Rathlin Island. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- Lett, Canon H.W. (1913). "Botanists of the North of Ireland". The Irish Naturalist. 22 (2): 26.
- Battersby, Eileen (4 October 2010). "Women artists a feature of Slane sale". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 May 2015.
- Butler, Patricia (2000). Irish Botanical Illustrators & Flower Painters. Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club. p. 68. ISBN 9781851493579.
- "Slane Auction Brings Over One Million Euro". Antiques and Art Ireland. Retrieved 20 May 2015.