| Mary Daisy Arnold was a botanical illustrator who worked for the United States Department of Agriculture and is one of the top three contributors to the USDA's Pomological Watercolor Collection behind Deborah Griscom Passmore and Amanda Newton. During her 36-year career there, Arnold contributed 1,060 paintings of fruit and nut varieties. Some were common to the U.S. such as apples, pears, grapes, and citrus, while others were more exotic at the time such as figs, persimmons, and papayas. Unfortunately, little else is known about her, although her work along with the 49 other pomological illustrators at the USDA around this time period were significant. Before photography, it was necessary to record the proliferation of cultivars at the turn of the century through highly detailed technical drawings. Arnold was also a landscape oil painter outside of her job at the USDA. |
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