Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford

Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford (née Thynne; 25 March 1760 – 28 December 1832) was an English naturalist and botanical illustrator who made studies and paintings of the plants, algae, and fungi from the Warwickshire area.

The Right Honourable

The Countess of Aylesford
Louisa, Countess of Aylesford (1783) by Valentine Green after Sir Joshua Reynolds
Born
Louisa Thynne

(1760-03-25)25 March 1760
Died28 December 1832(1832-12-28) (aged 72)
Packington Hall, Great Packington, Warwickshire, England
NationalityBritish
Known forBotanical art
Spouse(s)

Life

She was born the eldest daughter of the politician Thomas Thynne, 1st Marquess of Bath, and his wife, the former Lady Elizabeth Benticnk. In 1781 she married Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford. She had 12 children, including Heneage Finch, 5th Earl of Aylesford. She was widowed in 1812. In 1816, she leased Stanmore Park House, Stanmore, Middlesex: the site is now a housing estate, Lady Aylesford Avenue. She died at the age of 72 at the family home of Packington Hall.

Botany

Upon settling in Warwickshire. Lady Aylesford took to studying the region's flora. She produced over 2,800 botanical watercolour drawings and was a correspondent of botanists such as William Withering, W. T. Bree, and George Don.[1][2] Additionally, she documented about 30 first records of plants from Warwickshire.[3] She also amassed an extensive collection of minerals, which was acquired by Henry Heuland after her death.[4] Her plants are collected in Oxford University, and her minerals and manuscripts in the Natural History Museum.[5]

Art Work

Christie's (British auctioneer) notes Louisa Finch's works in their historic sales of art auctions:

"Two albums of original watercolours of mushrooms, toadstools and other fungi. [dated: 8 October 1792-1797]. 2 volumes, 2° (498 x 380mm). 2 leaves of manuscript indices at the front of each volume, 299 original watercolours by Louisa Finch (340 x 235mm. and smaller), 152 in vol.I, 147 in vol.II, mounted one to a sheet within an ink and wash border, all numbered, all with identifying title and a note of the place where they were drawn ('Packington') inscribed on the mount in ink in a single hand, many with a reference number, most with dates." [6]

Christies also states, "Intelligence as well as artistic ability have been applied to creating the albums, and they show Louisa to have been not only an accomplished draughtswoman but also a keen student of botany."[6]

An image of a 1792 yellow flower watercolour is available here at the British Museum Website.

References
  1. Ogilvie, Marilyn; Harvey, Joy, eds. (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. I. Routledge. p. 446. ISBN 0415920388.
  2. Bagnall, James E. (1891). The Flora of Warwickshire. London: Gurney & Jackson. pp. 493-494.
  3. Cadbury, D.A.; Hawkes, J. G.; Readett, R. C. (1971). A Computer-Mapped Flora: A Study of The County of Warwickshire. Academic Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-323-14258-8.
  4. The History of the Collections Contained in the Natural History Departments of the British Museum. I. London: Trustees of the British Museum. 1904. p. 364.
  5. Desmond, Ray (1994). Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturists. Taylor & Francis. p. 246. ISBN 978-0-85066-843-8.
  6. "[Louisa Finch, Countess of Aylesford (1760-1832)]". www.christies.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.


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