Yellow Lady's Slipper

by Gordon Beningfield

Title

Yellow Lady's Slipper

Artist

Gordon Beningfield

Medium

Painting - Watercolor On Watercolor Paper

Description

Well-adapted to acidic soils, yellow lady's slipper grows in bogs, moist deciduous woods and conifer forests. Several varieties of this species have been described in different parts of North America, Europe and Asia. Widespread throughout the polar regions, yellow lady's slipper has even been spotted growing in the Himalaya Mountains at elevations of more than 12,000 feet. The unusual flowers --which bloom from April to August -- have a yellow lip with two twisted lateral petals on either side and two purplish-brown sepals above and below it. The genus name is derived from the Greek words kypris, meaning Venus, and pedilon, meaning shoe, which describes the flower's form. Attracted by the flowers' scent and color, bees enter a one-way passage in the lip of the flower, and must travel from front to top to exit. As the bee makes its way along the tunnel, it brushes off pollen from other flowers and picks up new pollen, which ensures cross pollination.

Gordon Beningfield was born in London, but spent his childhood in rural Hertfordshire. He began his career as an ecclesiastical artist, and his commissions included engravings of seven glass Memorial Windows for the Brigade of Guards in the Guard's Chapel, London. Although he began to build a reputation for himself as a wildlife artist in the early 1960s, it wasn't until 1974 that a Look Stranger television program brought his work to the notice of a larger audience. After that, Beningfield was regularly in the public eye with periodic appearances on the BBC's In the Country program. The quality of his work, of course, steadily enhanced his reputation as one of Britain's leading painters of the countryside. His work first appeared in book form in 1978 with the publication of Beningfield's Butterflies, followed by Beningfield's Countryside. Many of his works have been displayed in international exhibits. His art was first immortalized on postage stamps in 1981 when his paintings of Britain's butterflies were chosen to be featured on that year's special British stamp issue. His appearances on television and publication of books made him a familiar artist in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.

Artwork Copyright © 1990 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB12790

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April 5th, 2022

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