Claire Orrell, In an Artist’s Garden, Thames & Hudson, January 2022, 36 pp., RRP $24.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781760761479
With rhyming verse, Orrell introduces the gardens of fourteen artists. Readers are invited to find objects hidden in the fine illustrations, such as spectacles, animals, such as frogs and birds, and plants, such as vegetables. There are also hidden statues and other things to discover.
A short biography of each artist is included. There are 12 from abroad and 2 from Australia – May Gibbs and Emily Kame Kngwarreye. The oversea artists range from Claude Monet (France), through Beatrix Potter (UK) and artists from Mexico and Japan. The illustrations are not drawn from the artists themselves, although they represent the artists’ responses to what is found in their gardens.
This book has something for everyone.
Reviewed by Stella Lees
