- Title: Cattleya Amethystoglossa
- Author: Walter Hood Fitch
- Date: c.1865
- Condition: Excellent - light foxing
- Inches: 9 x 14 [Image]
- Centimeters: 22.86 x 35.56 [Image]
- Product ID: 308435
Cattleya Amethystoglossa is a striking, evergreen epiphytic orchid native to the Atlantic rainforests of coastal Brazil, particularly in the states of Bahia and Espírito Santo. It typically grows on tree branches or rocky outcrops, thriving in humid, tropical environments.
Background on Creator
Walter Hood Fitch (1817-1892) was born in Glasgow, Scotland. From a young age, he demonstrated artistic talent and began formal training as a pattern drawer at a textile mill by the age of 13. This early apprenticeship, which involved creating intricate designs for calico fabric and mastering the complex process of engraving and color matching, laid the technical foundation for his later work as a botanical illustrator.
Fitch’s career in botanical art began after a pivotal meeting with William Jackson Hooker, the Regius Professor of Botany at Glasgow University and editor of Curtis’s Botanical Magazine. Impressed by Fitch’s skill and attention to detail, Hooker bought him out of his apprenticeship and employed him to produce botanical illustrations for the magazine. Fitch’s first published lithograph, of Mimulus roseus, appeared in 1834.