Roberta Cowing

Roberta Cowing Throckmorton (October 1860 - July 31, 1924) was an American artist, employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).[1]

Early life

Roberta Cowing was born to William Jackson Cowing (1832–1893) and Matilda Helen Crupper Cowing (1837–1896) in October of 1860, in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana, USA.[2] She had one older brother, Frank Myrtle Cowing (1857–1894).[2]

Career
Anthracnose of the bean by Roberta Cowing

Cowing was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries[1] to paint watercolors of fruit and nut varieties, as part of the USDA's Pomological Watercolor Collection. The collection includes paintings of Prunus salicina (Japanese plum), Pyrus communis (pears), and Rubus (brambles).[3][4][5]

She made illustrations of plants collected in an 1891 botanical survey of Death Valley; the work was published in an educational journal.[6]

Collections from the U.S. National Herbarium published twenty-one drawings of plants collected in Death Valley in their November 1893 issue, seventeen of which were signed by Roberta Cowing.[7]

Today, Cowing's work can be found in Carnegie Mellon University's Catalogue of the Botanical Art Collection at the Hunt Institute: Public Domain Images, as well as in several USDA government publications:

  • Bulletin No. 1-29, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888[8]
  • Peach Yellows: A Preliminary Report, Department of Agriculture, Botanical Division, 1888[9]
  • Bulletin, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888[10]
  • Yearbook of Agriculture, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889[11]

Cowing was active in Washington, D.C. from 1887 to 1920.[12]

She resided at 1311 13th Street N.W. Washington, D.C.[13]

Personal life

Roberta Cowing married Ernest Throckmorton at her parents' residence, on December 27, 1892.[14] Together, they had two sons, Robert W Throckmorton (1893–1952) and set designer Cleon Francis Throckmorton (1897–1965).[2][15]

Death

Roberta Cowing Throckmorton passed away at the age of 63, at George Washington University Hospital,[16] on July 31, 1924, and she was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.[2]

References
  1. Cowing, Roberta (1993). Made From This Earth: American Women and Nature. Chapel Hill & London: The University of North Carolina Press. p. 54. ISBN 0807843962. Roberta Cowing was one of many female artists employed by the U.S. Department of Agricuiture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
  2. "Roberta Cowing Throckmorton". Find a Grave.
  3. "Search USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection". usdawatercolors.nal.usda.gov. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  4. Norwood, Vera (2014-07-01). Made From This Earth: American Women and Nature. UNC Press Books. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4696-1744-2.
  5. Cohen, Shana Miriam (2005). American Garden Clubs and the Fight for Nature Preservation, 1890-1980. University of California, Berkeley.
  6. Norwood, Vera (1993). Made from this Earth: American Women and Nature. University of North Carolina Press. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-8078-2062-9.
  7. Norwood, Vera (1993). Made from this Earth: American Women and Nature. University of North Carolina Press. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-8078-2062-9.
  8. United States Division of Botany (1888). Bulletin No. 1-29. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  9. Smith, Erwin Frink (1888). Peach Yellows: A Preliminary Report. Department of Agriculture, Botanical Division.
  10. United States Division of Botany (1888). Bulletin.
  11. Yearbook of Agriculture. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1889. p. 337.
  12. McMahan, Virgil E. (1995). The Artists of Washington, D.C., 1796-1996. Artists of Washington. ISBN 978-0-9649101-0-2.
  13. Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia. R. L. Polk & Company. 1892.
  14. "28 Dec 1892, Page 3 - Evening Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 28 Dec 1892.
  15. Inc, Marquis Who's Who (1975). Who was who in American History, Arts and Letters. Marquis Who's Who. ISBN 978-0-8379-3301-6. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  16. "3 Aug 1924, 7 - Evening Star at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 3 Aug 1924.
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