Journal Number 98
February 2006

ORIGINAL PAPERS

Lucy Moore - New Zealand Botanical Artist
By J.B. Irwin

I was privileged to be associated with Lucy Moore over a long period - perhaps more than
25 years, long enough to realise that she was a truly remarkable person. Her reputation as
a botanist was recognised worldwide, so you might expect that botany would be her sole
interest. Not so, Lucy was intensely interested in people from all walks of life. She had an
amazing ability to sense the strengths and weaknesses of those she became involved with,
as I found out.

For years after Lucy had invited me to coauthor "The Oxford Book of New Zealand Plants",
I wondered why I of all people had been chosen for that task. Finally I was unwise enough to
ask her why? Her reply was hesitant and avoided a direct explanation, so I had to offer my own. I postulated that Lucy felt that I had the potential to produce good botanical drawings, but lacked the drive to reach that potential, someone had to push me along. I asked her if that was the reason. From her evasive response I knew that I had scored a bullseye. Clearly Lucy understood me, though I didn't as yet understand Lucy.

That out of the way, we continued our joint task until one day the New Zealand editor for the Oxford Press informed me that I would receive a copy of the new contract in the next day or two. I said I understood that the Oxford Press was prepared to honour the original contract, although it was already about 8 years past the completion date specified. The editor was clearly surprised that I had no knowledge of the new contract, but didn't discuss its contents.

When that contract arrived it stated that the authors had agreed that all royalties were to be
paid to J.B. Irwin. I phoned Lucy in Lincoln and said that the authors had agreed to no such
thing. It was a long phone call during which Lucy said - "Well that is the way it has to be" -
over and over until I finally meekly signed the contract. At that time Lucy's eyes troubled her greatly. She needed cataracts removed from both eyes but wouldn't agree to surgery until the book was published. It was a further year before she completed her text.

After publication, Lucy rang me to tell me that the Oxford Press had very generously given her twice as many free copies of the book as stated in the contract. Before she could ask me how many books I received, I lied (convincingly I hope) that I too had been surprised by the publishers' generosity. I'll never know whether Lucy deduced what really happened, but my guess is that she did.

In publishing the above I am breaking a promise not to reveal that Lucy had spent almost every moment of her spare time over a period of 11 years, preparing a book for which she received not a single cent. She was concerned that her family might not understand. However with the passage of time I feel that her nieces and nephews are entitled to know how particularly special their aunt was. Surely there can be no ill feeling.

Lucy was particularly interested in encouraging amateur botanists to contribute their snippets of knowledge toward a better understanding of our flora. She placed great value on the accumulated knowledge of her many willing disciples. Maureen Young, NOG member of Warkworth, was one of them. I am sure that Maureen's opinion of Lucy would match my own.

Yes, certainly Lucy Moore was a remarkable person, but was she really a botanical artist?
Well she didn't make drawings for publication, but the many drawings she did make had a most important purpose. They were a vital training tool in developing her own skills as a taxonomist.

Lucy believed that taxonomic decisions must be based on detailed and accurate observations. Also she was convinced that drawing the subject was the best way (perhaps the only way) to ensure that the observations were accurate and complete. Can anyone accurately draw a plant unless they see it clearly and understand its every detail? If you have doubts, try drawing a cat without first studying it carefully. Once completed Lucy's shorthand sketches provided a permanent record of minutiae which even her remarkable memory might otherwise forget.

One of the limitations of a botanical illustration is that is virtually impossible to include the infinite possible variations within a species. Lucy had a way round that problem. For instance when drawing for The Oxford Book of New Zealand Plants, I occasionally illustrated an a typical form of a species. I felt apologetic, but Lucy regarded such apparent faults as advantages. They gave her an opportunity to explain that such variations must be expected within any species of plant. Lucy illustrated that very important truth, not with a sketch, but even more completely with a few well chosen words.

Often an illustration reveals more than a lengthy description, but there are times when lucid, concise prose is far more effective. The two arts are truly complementary. Yes in a very real sense, Lucy Moore was a botanical artist - and a very successful one.