Fitch was involved in fabric printing from the age of 17 and took to botanical art after being discovered by William Jackson Hooker, the editor of Curtis' Botanical Magazine. Booker was a Professor of Botany at the University of Glasgow, and a competent botanical artist in his own right.
His first lithograph of Mimulus roseus, appeared in the Botanical Magazine in 1834, and soon became the sole artist for the magazine. In 1841, W.J. Hooker became director of Kew and Fitch moved to London. After 1841 Fitch was the sole artist for all official and unofficial publications issued by Kew.
Fitch's important works are his illustrations for William Jackson Hooker's A Century of Orchidaceous Plants (1851), and for J. Bateman's A Monograph of Odontoglossum (1864-74). He also created around 500 plates for Hooker's Icones Plantarum (1836-76). Some of his most notable work was for George Bentham and W.J. Hooker's Handbook of the British Flora (1865). When Joseph Dalton Hooker returned from his travels in India, Fitch prepared lithographs from Hooker's sketches for his Rhododendrons of Sikkim Himalaya (1849-51) and, from the drawings of Indian artists, for his Illustrations of Himalayan Plants (1855).
A dispute over pay with Joseph Dalton Hooker ended Fitch's service to both the Botanical Magazine and Kew although he was much sought after and remained active as a botanical artist until 1888. Works during this period included H.J. Elwes's Monograph of the Genus Lilium (1877-80).
WalterHoodFitch was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on February 28, 1817 and died at Kew, England, on January 14, 1892.
Fitch was working in a textile mill in Glasgow when the editor of Curtis' Botanical Magazine, Sir W.J. Hooker, director of the Royal Gardens at Kew, discovered him.
Fitch is especially celebrated as a 19th century botanical artist who focused on capturing the beauty and complexity of orchids.
WalterHoodFitch (February 28th, 1817 - 1892) was a botanical artist.
Fitch was involved in fabric printing from the age of 17 and took to botanical art after being discovered by William Jackson Hooker, the editor of Curtis' Botanical Magazine.
Fitch's important works are his illustrations for W. Hooker's A Century of Orchidaceous Plants (1851), and for James Bateman's A Monograph of Odontoglossum (1864-74).