Catherine Gage

Catherine Gage (18 May 1815 – 16 February 1892) was an Irish botanist, botanical and ornithological illustrator. 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.

Life

Catherine Gage was born in County Down on 18 May 1815, the daughter of Rev. Robert Gage and Catherine Boyd (1791–1852). Gage lived her entire life in the family home, Manor House on Rathlin Island. Gage died on 16 February 1892 and was buried on Rathlin Island.

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. During the course of this work she produced over five hundred watercolours of birds. 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.

Gage died on 16 February 1892.