Made possible after a successful joint application to the Finnis Scott Foundation Botanical Art Award, from May 2021 the Museum of Royal Worcester will be co-hosting a botanical art exhibition with members of the Gloucestershire Society for Botanical Illustration (GSBI).

The core of the exhibition will be works created by the GSBI’s talented members, many of whom are RHS medal winners, and displayed alongside the museum’s beautiful collections of porcelain and original archives.

To inspire GSBI members in their art works, the museum has so far held bespoke tours of the galleries with private views of a selection of archives including original art works and volumes from our design library, like Edwards’ Flowers. Each artist has also been given the opportunity to view archives directly, sketching from works by famous Royal Worcester artists including James Hadley and David Bates.

Grapes by Carolyn Phillips

Key to the exhibition is a celebration of the life and work of Stuart Lafford RIP in a standalone display dedicated to him. Stuart worked at Royal Worcester in the 1980s as a painter, and as a practising artist he also taught many of the GSBI’s current members. If you knew Stuart, either from your time at the factory, as an artist in his own right, or as a friend, the museum’s Collections Team would love to hear from you. Please email Louise Price at collections@museumofroyalworcester.org.