On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Lygodion Microphyllum (Australia)
Anna Atkins British
Not on view
This delightful dancing pattern of fern stems is actually from a single plant, Lygodium microphyllum, also known as Old World climbing fern. Native to Africa, Asia, and Australia, it is an invasive weed in the United States, where it is posing a threat to conservation lands in South Florida. The specimen here formed part of a unique 1854 album, "Cyanotypes of British and Foreign Flowering Plants and Ferns," given by pioneering photographer Atkins to her friend and collaborator, Anne Dixon. The cyanotype process is commonly called the blue-print process, used (until recently) by architects to duplicate their line drawings.
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