Catherine Gage
Irish botanist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catherine Gage (18 May 1815 – 16 February 1892) was an Irish botanist, botanical and ornithological illustrator.[1][2] As a botanist, she was known for her drawings and collections of Rathlin Island plants. She also painted over five hundred watercolours of birds on the island.
Catherine Gage | |
|---|---|
| Born | 18 May 1815 County Down, Ireland |
| Died | 16 February 1892 (aged 76) Rathlin Island, County Antrim, Ireland |
Resting place | Rathlin Island |
| Known for | botanical and ornithological illustration |
| Notable work | illustrated Birds of Rathlin Island |
| Parent(s) | Rev. Robert Gage, Catherine Boyd |
Life
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Catherine Gage was born in County Down on 18 May 1815, the daughter of Rev. Robert Gage and Catherine Boyd (1791–1852).[3] Gage's mother was a historian who wrote a two-volume history of Rathlin Island.[3] Gage lived her entire life in the family home, Manor House on Rathlin Island.[4] Gage died on 16 February 1892 and was buried on Rathlin Island.[5]
Illustration work
Gage seems to have devoted a large portion of her life to illustrating a book by her brother Robert Gage on the birds of Rathlin Island that was never published.[6] The book was styled on that of John James Audubon's The Birds of America.[6] During the course of this work she produced over five hundred watercolours of birds.[1] She also collected and illustrated local plants, creating a list for the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, the abstract for which was published in the 1850 Annals and Magazine of Natural History.[5] She also worked with her sister, Barbara Gage (1817–1859), illustrating the local flora as well as the fauna.[7] Robert Gage did publish a list of the birds of the island, and Catherine Gage recorded 220 species of plants, 4 mammals and around ninety-five types of birds, as well as a number of marine mammals.[8]
Gage died on 16 February 1892.[1] When the folio of bird illustrations was auctioned in 2010, they were sold for €13,500.[9]