Roberta Cowing Explained

Roberta Cowing Throckmorton (October 1860 - July 31, 1924) was an American artist, employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).^[1]

Early life

Roberta Cowing was born to William Jackson Cowing (1832–1893) and Matilda Helen Crupper Cowing (1837–1896) in October of 1860, in Rushville, Rush County, Indiana, USA.^[2] She had one older brother, Frank Myrtle Cowing (1857–1894).^[2]

Career

Cowing was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries^[1] to paint watercolors of fruit and nut varieties, as part of the USDA's Pomological Watercolor Collection. The collection includes paintings of Prunus salicina (Japanese plum), Pyrus communis (pears), and Rubus (brambles).^{[3] [4] [5]}

She made illustrations of plants collected in an 1891 botanical survey of Death Valley; the work was published in an educational journal.^[6]

Collections from the U.S. National Herbarium published twenty-one drawings of plants collected in Death Valley in their November 1893 issue, seventeen of which were signed by Roberta Cowing.^[7]

Today, Cowing's work can be found in Carnegie Mellon University's Catalogue of the Botanical Art Collection at the Hunt Institute: Public Domain Images, as well as in several USDA government publications:

• Bulletin No. 1-29, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888^[8]
• Peach Yellows: A Preliminary Report, Department of Agriculture, Botanical Division, 1888^[9]
• Bulletin, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888^[10]
• Yearbook of Agriculture, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1889^[11]

Cowing was active in Washington, D.C. from 1887 to 1920.^[12]

She resided at 1311 13th Street N.W. Washington, D.C.^[13]

Personal life

Roberta Cowing married Ernest Throckmorton at her parents' residence, on December 27, 1892.^[14] Together, they had two sons, Robert W Throckmorton (1893–1952) and set designer Cleon Francis Throckmorton (1897–1965).^{[2] [15]}

Death

Roberta Cowing Throckmorton passed away at the age of 63, at George Washington University Hospital,^[16] on July 31, 1924, and she was buried in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.^[2]

External links

• U.S. Department of Agriculture Pomological Watercolor Collection
  • Images painted by Cowing in the collection.
• The Johnson Collection, Directory of Southern Women Artists
• Huntia: A Journal of Botanical History, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie-Mellon University
• The Artists of Washington, D.C., 1796-1996

Notes and References

1. Book: Cowing. Roberta. Made From This Earth: American Women and Nature. 1993. The University of North Carolina Press. 0807843962. Chapel Hill & London. 54. Roberta Cowing was one of many female artists employed by the U.S. Department of Agricuiture in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries..
2. Web site: Roberta Cowing Throckmorton . Find a Grave.
3. Web site: Search USDA Pomological Watercolor Collection. 2021-08-12. usdawatercolors.nal.usda.gov.
4. Book: Norwood, Vera. Made From This Earth: American Women and Nature. 2014-07-01. UNC Press Books. 978-1-4696-1744-2. 87. en.
5. Book: Cohen, Shana Miriam. American Garden Clubs and the Fight for Nature Preservation, 1890-1980. 2005. University of California, Berkeley. en.
6. Book: Norwood . Vera . Made from this Earth: American Women and Nature . 1993 . University of North Carolina Press . 978-0-8078-2062-9 . 58 . en.
7. Book: Norwood . Vera . Made from this Earth: American Women and Nature . 1993 . University of North Carolina Press . 978-0-8078-2062-9 . 54 . en.
8. Book: United States Division of Botany . Bulletin No. 1-29 . 1888 . U.S. Government Printing Office . en.
9. Book: Smith . Erwin Frink . Peach Yellows: A Preliminary Report . 1888 . Department of Agriculture, Botanical Division . en.
10. Book: United States Division of Botany . Bulletin . 1888 . en.
11. Book: Yearbook of Agriculture . 1889 . U.S. Government Printing Office . 337 . en.
12. Book: McMahan, Virgil E.. The Artists of Washington, D.C., 1796-1996. 1995. Artists of Washington. 978-0-9649101-0-2. en.
13. Book: Boyd's Directory of the District of Columbia. 1892. R. L. Polk & Company. en.
14. News: 28 Dec 1892, Page 3 - Evening Star at Newspapers.com . Newspapers.com . 28 Dec 1892 . en.
15. Book: Inc, Marquis Who's Who. Who was who in American History, Arts and Letters. 1975. Marquis Who's Who. 978-0-8379-3301-6. en.
16. News: 3 Aug 1924, 7 - Evening Star at Newspapers.com . Newspapers.com . 3 Aug 1924 . en.