Lecture | “Printy” Bouquets: The Legacy of Furber’s Flowers

view slideshow

February 1, 2025
Twice a year, Bayou Bend presents a remarkable opportunity to hear renowned scholars speak about important aspects of American decorative and fine arts.

In this lecture, curator Katie McKinney explores the impact of Robert Furber’s series of prints known as The Twelve Months of Flowers in conjunction with Libbey Oliver’s live re-creation of historical displays. These new arrangements are based on the works of art and inspired by Louise Fisher’s iconic 20th-century floral designs.

Originally created in the 1730s as a seed catalogue for Furber’s London nursery, the prints in The Twelve Months of Flowers were used as decorations in early American homes. In the 20th century, the prints served as important references for Louise Fisher, the first floral arranger at Colonial Williamsburg. Fisher instigated a historically informed approach to floral design that would influence future generations and define the Colonial Williamsburg style. Contemporary scholars and historians refer to these engravings to understand the types of flowers, shrubs, and trees that were exchanged around the globe by 18th-century botanists. Just as they were decorative yet functional when originally published, The Twelve Months of Flowers continue to inspire and inform today.

Plan Your Visit

• Admission is free. For more information, or to reserve a seat for the lecture, email bayoubend@mfah.org or call 713.639.7762.
• To attend the lecture online, register via Zoom.
• This program takes place in the Lora Jean Kilroy Visitor and Education Center at Bayou Bend.
• Parking is free. 

About the Presenters
Katie McKinney is the Margaret Beck Pritchard Curator of Maps and Prints at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. In October 2024, she opened the exhibit Celebrity in Print at the Art Museums at Colonial Williamsburg which explores how the 18th century English market for portrait prints played a role in the genesis of our modern concept of “celebrity.” McKinney was also the co-curator of the exhibit Promoting America: Maps of the Colonies and the New Republic and is currently co-curating an exhibit on Colonial Williamsburg’s centennial that will open in 2026. She holds an M.A. from the Winterthur Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware (2015) and a B.A. in art history and history from James Madison University (2011).

Libbey Oliver is the former manager of floral and Christmas decorations for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Over her 23-year tenure there, she and her staff brought life to the historic houses with arrangements in the style of the 1700s. After her retirement, she began her own floral and horticultural business and currently lectures and demonstrates how 18th-century floral arranging mechanics are being revived in the present day. She holds a degree in horticulture, studied under British floral arranger Sheila Macqueen, and was awarded National Flower Arranger of the Year by the American Horticultural Society in 1994.