New York Times Jan. 16, 2007

Anne Ophelia Todd Dowden Born: September 17, 1907, Denver, CO Died: 2007, Boulder, CO, a renowned and popular botanical artist whose subjects ranged from the flowers found in Shakespeare to the weeds found in New York City, died Thursday in Boulder, Colo. She was 99.

Her death was announced by Martha Hutchinson, a cousin.

Ms. Dowden was recognized for the anatomical accuracy and beauty of her paintings. She worked mainly in watercolor, producing elegantly detailed images of flowers, insects, herbs and birds. She used only living specimens for models and kept extensive collections of preserved flowers and insects as reference material.

Her works reflect the simple pleasure of looking at nature.

Her career as a botanical illustrator and author resulted in more than 20 books, many of them for younger readers. Most were written and illustrated by her, though she also illustrated books written by others. Her subjects included poisonous plants, flower pollination and state flowers as well as flowers mentioned in the Bible and in the writings of Shakespeare.