E.D. Smith's Art

For many years, E.D. Smith was employed at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and was one of the finest botanical artists of the time. Accomplished in both floral and portrait painting, Smith specialized in botanicals.- He was taught by his father, Anker Smith (1759-1819), who was himself a noted engraver and miniaturist. Smith lived in London, exhibiting much of his work from 1816 to 1847.
He exhibited at Royal Academy and at the Suffolk Street Galleries. Robert Sweet, Smith's collaborator, was an enterprising horticulturist.

Sweet as a horticulturist rather than a scientific botanist or botanical artist, he devoted himself to new species with an eye to their suitability for growing in British gardens and hot-houses.

The partnership between Sweet and Smith resulted in a series of important illustrated
flower books.