Lydia Shackleton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lydia Shackleton
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| Born | 22 November 1828 Ballitore, Ireland
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| Died | 10 November 1914 (aged 85) Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland
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| Nationality | Irish |
| Education | Royal Dublin School of Art and Design |
| Known for | Botanical artist |
Lydia Shackleton (born 1828, died 1914) was a talented Irish artist. She specialized in drawing plants and flowers. She studied art at the Royal Dublin School of Art and Design.
Lydia was the first artist to work full-time at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Dublin. There, she created hundreds of beautiful plant pictures. She also taught children and wrote poems. She even traveled to the United States.
Her Early Life
Lydia Shackleton was born in 1828. Her hometown was Ballitore in County Kildare, Ireland. She was the third of 13 children in her family. Her family belonged to the Quaker religion.
Lydia went to a Quaker school in Ballitore. Later, she studied art at the Royal Dublin School of Art and Design. This school is now called the National College of Art and Design. Her earliest drawings that we still have are from 1848.
Lydia loved to share her art skills. She taught her younger brothers and sisters. She also taught her nieces and nephews. Being one of the oldest children meant she had many family duties. This sometimes kept her from focusing on her art as much as she wished.
After her art studies, Lydia moved to Lucan in County Dublin. There, she opened a small school for Quaker children. She taught at this school for 20 years. She also spent two long periods living in America.
Artist for the Botanic Gardens
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Lydia Shackleton worked as an artist for the Royal Botanic Gardens in Dublin for 23 years. She started this important job in 1884. She was the very first artist to work full-time at the gardens. Another Quaker artist, Alice Jacob, also worked there.
Lydia did not get paid for her amazing work. She painted on special tinted paper. This meant she had to use white paint to make highlights. She was very careful with her details. Sometimes, she would even tape a real pressed flower or leaf to her painting. This helped people compare her art to the actual plant.
Lydia created about 1500 botanical studies. She signed each one with "L.S.". More than two-thirds of these paintings were of orchids. Her paintings helped record the new types of plants that gardeners were growing. Her flower paintings are seen as scientific studies of plants.
She also painted about 100 native Irish wild plants. These were for the Science and Art Museum in Dublin. This museum is now called the National Museum of Ireland. This collection is believed to be her largest work.
Lydia had to stop painting in 1907. Her eyesight became very poor. This made it hard for her to paint the tiny details she was known for. Her detailed work might have even caused her eye problems. She sadly became completely blind. Lydia passed away in 1914 at her home in Rathgar, Dublin. She was buried at the Friends Burial Ground in Blackrock, Dublin.
