Botanical Fainting Couch by Sarah Peters

On View: October 22, 2022 – February 28, 2023
Gardens open daily: 9 AM – 5 PM
The Botanical Fainting Couch is located outdoors between the John J. Willaman Education Center and the Green Ribbon Garden.

About the Botanical Fainting Couch:

The Botanical Fainting Couch is an award-winning taxonomy-themed sculpture that is made up of the twenty-six letters of the alphabet. Each letter has the texture of a different plant. The plant is identified by the Latin genus (the scientific name) that begins with that letter. A is for Acer, B is for Begonia, C is for Comptonia, etc.

The sculpture functions fully as a garden bench so that it may encourage close-up examination and exploration. It may be placed outside or indoors. Its broad range of plant specimens represent every region of the United States. Research for the project was conducted under the guidance of botanists at the Harvard University Herbaria, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The classifications are universal, and speak to an international audience.

About the Artist:

Sarah Belcher Peters is a graduate of Pratt Institute.  She is a lifelong artist, working in multiple mediums, but is happiest solving large creative problems. She loves nothing more than being given a challenge, and the freedom to “go big.”

Sarah’s completed bronze works are generally part of editions, and are cast upon request.  She also has specific pieces, The Botanical Fainting Couch and The Alphabet Chair, that can travel to sites for temporary exhibitions with accompanying educational materials and guidance for programming that revolve around the sculptures.

Learn more about Sarah Peters by clicking here.