Margaret Mee’s Amazon: Diaries of an Artist Explorer

For thirty-two years, the artist Margaret Mee was enchanted by and lured back again and again to the massive, unpredictable and fertile rainforests of Amazonas. Her initial objective, to search out and illustrate the glorious flora growing in the tree canopies and along the innumerable waterways of the great rivers of the Amazon basin, was later combined with a growing concern at the commercial plunder of the great forests.Her first expedition to Amazonas was in 1956 and it was then that she began to keep the diaries that, along with her paintings, drawings and sketches, make up this book.Between expeditions, some of which lasted for up to four months, Margaret returned home to Sao Paulo, to teaching commitments, and to her own painting. Unpredictable weather, transport and guides meant she often had to make hurried in situ sketches (always meticulously annotated) which she later worked up into coloured sketches and finished paintings.In the autumn of 1988, just after what was sadly to be her last expedition, Margaret came to England to lecture to the Royal Geographic Society and attend the opening of an exhibition of her paintings, Margaret Mee’s Amazon, at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is ironic that this enthusiastic lover of the Amazon, who had braved so many hazardous and alarming situations, was killed in a car crash in England. She was seventy-nine, keen to return to the Amazon, and still producing fine work. pp. 319 illusts First Edition #0819 Large, heavy book. (Prev ownership on prelim)(Please note: Over standard weight. Orders may incur additional postage charges. We will contact you prior to processing order to request your approval or contact us to confirm postage cost.)