Sacred Datura by Donald Davidson. Courtesy of Wohlfarth Galleries..
Artist’s Reception: Saturday, March 25 at 3pm
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Those who saw his dramatic watercolor rendition of the carmine blossomed Echinocereus coccinea at the 2016 exhibition, Flora of the National Parks, at the US Botanical Garden had a preview of the skilled sensitive renditions of native flora by Donald Davidson on display at Wohlfarth Galleries starting March 15 – April 15, 2017.
Viewers will be treated to a return to the spare, unvarnished approach that seemingly belies Davidson’s devotion to neo-expressionism back in the 1980’s. In his depiction of the Sacred Datura, the artist manages to capture its rooted, yet lively dance before a desert wind. The artist received his first recognition as a painter of native flora, “I’ve always been a flower-child”, he loves to say,” with a solo exhibition at the Centennial Museum of El Paso in 2004 which documented native species that find their habitats in the North Chihuahuan Desert Region. The exhibition was later served as a traveling educational display serving NPS Visitor Center.
Awarded the Presidential Gold Medal for VolunteerService,by President Obama in 2016 Davidson has completed over 600 watercolor illustrations spanning 17 years through the auspices of the US Department of Interior in support of its mandate to monitor and preserve native species inhabiting public lands nationwide. More information on his art and “stewardship-through-the-arts” projects and especially images produced in Puerto Rico for the USFWS may be seen at: www.nps.gov/plants/cw/watercolor/index.htm
Wohlfarth Galleries is located at 3418 9th Street NE in Washington, DC, one block from Metroʼs Brookland station. Street Parking is also available. For gallery hours and directions, please call (202)526-8022 or visit their website at wohlfarthgalleries.com.
