The pioneering female botanical artists you may never have heard of

Botanical illustrations by women shape our knowledge of Australia's flora Stepping into Philippa Nikulinsky's studio feels like a peek inside her mind. From her desk overlooking the garden, to the colourful illustrations adorning the walls and drawers filled with field notes and sketches, the whole space is a culmination of a lifelong appreciation for nature. The 83-year-old self-taught artist says her love of plants is inspired by having grown up in Kalgoorlie. "I love the red earth country because I came from a place where it was harsh and dry and dusty, and then every few years there was an absolute miracle of wildflowers." Nikulinsky uses watercolour paints to create incredibly detailed and accurate depictions of Western Australia's flora. Each artwork captures the curl and bend of leaves, the tiny segments of flowers, and branches that have become sparse over time. She says still having a steady hand is a blessing. In the field, she maps out her paintings on rice paper, taking notes on form and colours. "Every drawing that I have has its own suite of field drawings". Although her current paintings and illustrations focus on art rather than taxonomy, she spent decades working with scientists as a botanical illustrator. Nikulinsky's artistic pursuits, scientific drawings and incredibly detailed field notes provide a rich record of Western Australia's floral history. "I very seldom just do single, pretty pictures … they're actually a record of time and place." Nikulinsky's work is part of a rich legacy of botanical illustrations created by Australian women that has made a lasting impact. By blending art and science their illustrations inform our understanding of botany, from identifying species to providing references of landscapes that have since changed or been lost. Scott sisters shaped the field Harriet and Helena Scott are among the country's most influential botanical illustrators from the past. Born in 1830 and 1832 respectively, the Scott sisters were some of the earliest female commercial artists in Australia. "That was due to their real love for the arts, for natural history [and] for the environment they were seeing around themselves," says Darcy Campbell, archivist at the Australian Museum, where an extensive collection of artworks and records from the Scott sisters are kept. The Sydney-born sisters developed their passion for documenting the natural world at a young age, working with their father Alexander on a shared scientific notebook. Together they would collect specimens like moths and butterflies, building them at-home habitats and cataloguing their characteristics. As they got older, Helena and Harriet illustrated plates for a book written by their father. "These are beautiful artworks, quite large, very vivid in colour. And what's really interesting and unique about their work is that at the time, a lot of scientific artistic plates in scientific books would just depict the specimen … but what they were really unique for, is that they would also paint the background that they found the specimen or species in." Despite women's contributions to science being largely unrecognised at the time, Ms Campbell says Alexander Scott insisted his daughters were credited for their work. "He kind of is unique for his time to do that. "So many male scientists [then] also created these kinds of books and the women in their families would be intimately involved, either by doing the illustrations or helping hand colour or helping file the papers … and the women never got credited." Ms Campbell says the legacy of the Scott sisters shines a light on both the evolution of scientific illustration and the role of women in science and art. "It shows that women have always been involved in trying to understand the natural world. "I think that's really true in Australia, because they also would've built on the legacies of First Nations women who had been understanding butterflies and moths for thousands of years before they ever came along." Their legacy also carries forward today to female scientists who still use the Scott sisters' collections. Peggy Svoboda is one of these scientists, becoming familiar with Helena Scott's "Botany of Ash Island" in the 1990s. The biologist was the project manager of an ecological restoration project across several sites including Ash Island, near Newcastle in New South Wales, where the Scott sisters lived from 1846. Ms Svoboda says her team was excited to see Helena Scott's handwritten species list at the Australian Museum. "It was just so valuable to know what that landscape had before it was modified," she says. The 1862 document gave Ms Svoboda's team something to aim for and continues to shape revegetation efforts in the area. Ms Svoboda also reflects on the impressive use of creative energy by the Scott sisters to document not just moths or butterflies, but the insects' whole habitat, something that is incredibly useful in restoration projects. The incredible Margaret Flockton Another botanical illustrator from the last century who continues to inform art and science to this day is Margaret Flockton. She was the first scientific botanical illustrator at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney. After her family moved from the UK to Sydney in the late 1880s, Flockton worked as a lithographer, artist and then botanical illustrator. She worked alongside the director of Royal Botanic Garden, Joseph Henry Maiden, from 1901 to 1927. During that time, she created more than 2,000 botanical illustrations. For decades, her scientific work was largely unrecognised. But in 2003, the Royal Botanic Garden's current illustrators, Lesley Elken and Catherine Wardrop, celebrated her story in a speech on International Women's Day. "I think when we came across the massive collection of original artworks we had in the archive, we realised that people need to know about this amazing woman," Elken says. Around the same time, Louise Wilson, Flockton's great great niece wrote a book about her life, called Margaret Flockton: A Fragrant Memory. A century after her illustrations were created, Flockton's legacy inspired the creation of the Margaret Flockton Awards, which ran from 2004 to 2025. Both Elken and Wardrop have a deep appreciation for the botanical illustrators that came before them. "You know that the drawing you're doing is always going to be there … and you want to do it justice because you know that you've got Margaret Flockton ahead of you and she was incredible, her work still blows us away," Ms Wardrop says. Art brings science to life Much like the botanical illustrators of previous centuries, artists continue to work with scientists to bring their observations to life. "We call we call ourselves the visual communicators of science," Ms Elken says. Elken has worked as a botanical illustrator for three decades, sharing her role with Wardrop, who joined her just a few years later. Alongside documenting the flora of New South Wales, a large part of their job is working with botanists to illustrate the key features of a plant, highlighting elements that make it different from its closest relative. If you've ever used a field guide on a bush walk, it's likely you've come across these types of illustrations before. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a common question Elken and Wardrop receive is why illustrations are used over photographs. "Nothing compares to the capacity of an illustrator to understand the taxonomy … To work with the botanist to comprehend what the characters of the plant are," Wardrop says. The illustrations act as a translation of scientific knowledge. "That is a really powerful tool of scientific illustration. It speaks to everyone everywhere, not just the botanists who know how to speak the language," she says. Illustrations document changing landscapes Alongside documenting the minute details of a plant, Philippa Nikulinsky's artwork explores Western Australia's unique ecosystems. "It takes me a while to sort of work out what I'm going to paint. "I'm not looking for anything, you see… I don't look for any particular plant. It's being in the place. We stay in one spot. We don't move about… so what I paint in that place is place… And what grows with them and what lives on them, the insects, everything." Nikulinsky's work includes two decades of illustrating covers for Landscope magazine and contributing to numerous publications and scientific articles. A book of her illustrations, Wildflowers of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, was given to Queen Elizabeth II in 2011. Nikulinsky has spent decades exploring Western Australia's diverse bushland, often alongside her husband, spending weeks camping and watching nature. In this time, she's noticed changes in the landscape. "I think a lot of my paintings will be all that's left, which is quite sad, but it's good that it's been done." Although Nikulinsky doesn't consider herself a scientist, her work continues to inspire women in scientific fields. Perth-based botanist Keelin Smith says discovering botanical art and seeing Nikulinsky's work is one of the main reasons she decided to study botany. "Nikulinsky's artworks are not only incredibly detailed studies of the plants themselves but how they fit into their environment," she says. "Her work and her process for creating her work continues to inspire me to get out and see what our beautiful outback has to offer." Nikulinsky says the comments she hears from visitors to her studio are heartwarming. "I had a young woman come when I had open day up at the studio, and she said to me, 'I've done botany because of you.'" "So, it gives me goosebumps, actually."