Mary Ann Armstrong

Mary Ann Armstrong (née Newey, 17 June 1838, Birmingham, England – 2 July 1910, Flemington, Australia), also known as Mrs. C.C. Armstrong, was a British botanical fern artist who lived and worked in New Zealand and Australia. She compiled and artistically arranged fern specimens for a number of Australasia's ferns albums, including a series of professional gift books "The South Pacific Fern Album". Armstrong participated in a number of international and intercolonial exhibitions, where her ferns received commendation and were gifted to dignitaries. After the sudden death of their daughter, Nellie, Mary Ann and her husband travelled to West Australia to care for their grandchildren. They eventually returned to the Melbourne area and settled with the family of their daughter Jennie. Mary Ann died in Flemington on 2 July 1910 and is buried in Melbourne General Cemetery. In addition to albums, Armstrong produced ferns mounted on postcards and paper goods with fern transfers selling them to local booksellers and fancy goods shops.

Nowadays Armstrong's albums can be found such institutions as the National Library of New Zealand, the Universities of Wellington and Waikato, Australian National University Library, the National Library of Australia, and the State Libraries of New South Wales and Victoria, as well as at Harvard, the University of Georgia and UCLA.

Exhibitions

1879 – International Exhibition, Sydney 1880–1881 – Melbourne International Exhibitions, Exhibition Building, Melbourne, VIC 1882 – New Zealand International Exhibition, Christchurch, NZ 1886 – Colonial and Indian Exhibition, London, England 1888 – Centennial International Exhibition, Melbourne, VIC