495 Yellow Iris - Iris hybrid

Henry drew this stately iris in the garden of friends in Oakland, California. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
180 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.

 

499 Iris

Iris douglasiana Drawn at the Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, California, on 26 April 1983. The Douglas Iris is easily one of the most familiar and best loved of all the California wildflowers. Growing abundantly on broad grassy slopes, in open places on the coastal prairie, and in the mixed evergreen forest from Santa Barbara to the Oregon border, it is in bloom from March to May. The Douglas Iris produces many size and color variations, depending on conditions. It can vary from a few inches high on windy coastal hills to more than two feet in a protected woodland setting. The flower color may vary from pure white through all the tints and shades of blue, to the deepest purple imaginable. The leaves can be very curved or tall and straight. As a printmaker, I have made scores of different iris prints. Not only is the Iris one of the subjects most loved by the general public, but happily, it is one of my great favorites as well —Henry Evans
200 copies were printed and sell for $300 each.

500 Siskiyou Iris

Iris bracteata Drawn in the Botanic Garden in Tilden Park in Berkeley, California. In the wild, this uncommon iris is found primarily in shady places in the yellow-pine forests of Del Norte County, California, and in southwestern Oregon. —Gunder Hefta
150 copies were printed and sell for $300 each.

503 Blue Iris

Iris hybrid. Drawn in San Francisco, California, from specimens purchased from a florist. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
148 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.

504 Light Blue Iris

Iris hybrid. Drawn at our home in San Francisco, California. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
144 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.

505 Purple Iris

Iris hybrid. Drawn at home in St. Helena, California. Irises are native to many temperate climates around the world. Named after the rainbow goddess Iris, and dedicated to the goddess Juno, the iris was a symbol of power and majesty. The scepter was designed after it. The three petals are supposed to stand for faith, wisdom, and valor. —Henry Evans
141 copies were printed and sell for $300 each.

506 Brown Iris

Iris hybrid. Drawn at home in the Napa Valley. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
146 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.

508 White Iris

Iris hybrid. This iris was drawn at home in the Napa Valley, California. Infinitely variable in size and color, the iris blooms in slow profusion, meandering through the color spectrum, spring to fall, sea level to mountain shoulder, blooming in garden trash in a vacant lot and also blooming in the great immaculately tended beds of the stateliest gardens. —Henry Evans
147 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.

511 Bearded Iris

Iris hybrid. Gunder Hefta grew this handsome, rich blue iris in his garden in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Gunder brought the specimen to the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York City, where Henry drew it, and we enjoyed it for the duration of our stay there. When framing this iris print, weâve found that a mat with an oval opening works best with the composition. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
150 copies were printed and sell for $200 each.

512 Blue Bearded Iris

Iris hybrid. Drawn at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York City from a handsome specimen brought from Gunder Hefta's garden in Dobbs Ferry. A suggestion on framing this print: we have found that it looks very nice in a 14 inch by 18 inch frame, with an oval mat opening. —Marsha Onomiya Evans
143 copies were printed and sell for $100 each.

552 Hybrid Japanese Iris

Derived from Iris kaempferi. The drawing for this print was made at home in San Francisco from specimens given me by my friend Jack Halpern, who each year creates wonders in his little San Francisco garden. He has provided me with many beautiful plants to draw. I. kaempferi, which is native to eastern Siberia and Japan, has been hybridized to produce hundreds of different cultivars now grown by iris lovers. The drooping falls are characteristic. It is a luxurious and sensuous plant, adding yet another aspect to the incredible variety of iris forms. —Henry Evans
140 copies were printed and sell for $150 each.