Te Papa holds a vast collection of works by Nancy Adams, CBE, QSO (1926–2007). Our curators and researchers are taking a close look at her fascinating life and work. Art history research assistant Amy Holtman has helped rediscover her extensive work on An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. The discovery adds another layer to our understanding of Adams’ contributions to Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and renews our awareness of her impact on our cultural heritage.
The artistic journey of Nancy Adams
Nancy Adams was a prolific and talented 20th-century artist, however, her name is most associated with botany and botanic illustration. She was born in Levin in 1926 and raised in Wellington. From a young age, her inherent artistic talent was evident. Her childhood works – which depict motifs that reappear in her art throughout her life: plants, flowers, and animals – demonstrate the foundations for her later artistic and scientific pursuits.
As seen in the images below, Adams’ childhood artworks demonstrate her deep affinity for and engagement with the natural world, meticulous attention to detail, and the pursuit of life-like authenticity.
During her years at Wellington Girls College, Adams’ strengths in science and art were apparent. She won awards for her illustrations and earned recognition for her accomplishments in science. Upon graduation, she embarked on a professional career in botanical research.
Adams’ employment, from the age of 16, at the Botany Division of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) shaped the direction of her artistic pursuits. As she matured into an accomplished botanist, her creative skills complemented her scientific research. By age 25, she had illustrated Henry Connor’s The Poisonous Plants of New Zealand (DSIR, 1951).
The rich natural environment of Aotearoa provided an unlimited source of subject matter for her art, which was increasingly informed by her growing scientific knowledge. With titles such as Mountain Flowers of New Zealand (Reed, 1965) and The Fiat Book of New Zealand Trees (Reed, 1977), her drawings and paintings became field guides for a nation that prized its natural heritage. Adams significantly enhanced the understanding and appreciation of New Zealand’s diverse flora and fauna.
She published, co-authored, or illustrated over 44 books on New Zealand’s plants, flowers, and trees. Her most significant title was the award-winning publication Seaweeds of New Zealand: An Illustrated Guide (Canterbury Press, 1994). Using an abundance of her gorgeous watercolour illustrations, Adams’ book detailed over 600 of the nearly 800 known species of seaweed found in the coastal waters of New Zealand.
Her unique approach, combining scientific accuracy with artistic beauty, set her work apart and made it a valuable resource for botanists, art enthusiasts, and New Zealanders in general.
Adams was decorated for her accomplishments. In 1964, the Royal New Zealand Horticultural Society presented her the prestigious Loder Cup. She was appointed a companion of the Queen’s Service Order (QSO) in 1989, awarded a 1990 Commemorative Medal for services to botany, and designated as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1996 honours. These awards recognised her service and contributions to science and New Zealand.
Prior to her death in 2007, Nancy Adams arranged to transfer her personal collection of paintings, drawings, and ephemera to Te Papa. The full collection, spanning her life and career, is now housed at Te Papa.
A national treasure
Fast forward to the present day, where I am part of an inter-disciplinary team of art historians and botanists at Te Papa working to document and archive the life and legacy of Nancy Adams as a botanist, artist and curator. Researching her legacy revealed that she contributed to more books than was popularly known. We are finding that, in the 1950s and 60s, she regularly supplied artwork to the publications of others without significant attribution.
She often signed her work with a discreet “NMA” in the illustration, but she frequently shared the work without a full credit. Her generosity in contributing her knowledge and talents speaks to her dedication to her colleagues, profession, and practice. Her colleague and friend, Professor Geoff Baylis acknowledges her largesse and influence in a letter from 1988:
Miss Adams has always regarded her talents as a means to achieve where she saw a need, not as a source of personal profit. The first impact of this generous use of her abilities came in the sixties fostering the growing interest in natural history. It began with a book for identifying trees and shrubs (Poole and Adams, 1963) and a series of National Park handbooks, all sold at prices that made it plain that the authors had worked for nothing and none of them harder than the illustrator.(1)
I love to find new connections within collections, so it was exciting to discover that Nancy Adams had illustrated An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand (Owen, 1966). (See volume 1 on the Internet archive – free, login required) published by the Government Printer to international acclaim, it was the first official encyclopaedia for this nation, became a resource for generations of New Zealand children, and remains an essential reference for scholars of New Zealand.(2)
The compendium of New Zealand culture was well received at a time when New Zealand was just beginning to individuate, asserting a national identity separate from Britain; the print run of 34,000 sold out quickly.
The work is now recognised as blemished with errors and omissions and representative of biases of the time, yet it was also progressive and inclusive for the era in which it was published. One modern reviewer summed it up as “a monumental resource, itself a snapshot of a nation’s self-fashioning.”(3)
Researching the collection at the Turnbull Library, which also holds a small collection of work by Adams, helped make the connection to An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. However, the volumes themselves affirm the extent of her involvement. The editor, Alexander Hare McLintock, writes,
The line drawings, which are an important complement to the text, were in the main the work of Nancy M. Adams, Dominion Museum, Wellington. Besides producing practically the entire botanical and bird sets, as well as illustrating a number of specialised articles such as “Seashore Animals”, she gave much valuable assistance in other ways – for instance, on subject selection and in writing and checking many of the captions. Her share in the project cannot be overemphasised.(4)
This finding is remarkable because, while Adams’ obituaries include lengthy lists of her published works, An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand is not included.(5,6) To date, nothing we have found in her personal files, journals, notebooks, or the trove of works acquired by Te Papa in 2007 suggests an association with the project, which began in 1959 and developed over six years.(7)
This monumental work comprises three volumes and nearly 3,000 pages, and it seemingly escaped notice as being significant among Adams’ works.
The editor’s acknowledgement reveals that Adams’ participation in the venture spanned well beyond her illustrations. She had input on editorial decisions, editing and writing. And while her scope of involvement is admirable, it’s the hundreds of illustrations that thrill me the most.
Adams created an astounding number of wonderfully detailed, original illustrations throughout the volumes that depict the unique flora and fauna of Aotearoa. The subjects, extending well beyond her usual botanic motifs, include delightful drawings of birds, sea creatures, underwater scenes, and complex natural phenomena. The illustrations are diverse in subject, but they all share the precision and life-like authenticity that characterises her work.
The significance
The discovery is meaningful for the sheer scope and importance of this project. In the context of Adams’ other projects, responsibilities and publications, her extensive (and previously relatively unknown) involvement with the encyclopedia is a testament to her artistic prowess and productivity. It represents years of dedication and passion in her work and underscores Adams’ selflessness in service to knowledge and science.
The discovery is also profound because it provides a renewed appreciation for how deep her influence ran in mid-century New Zealand culture. This discovery begs the question of what other collaborations from Nancy Adams are yet to be found.
A lasting legacy
This discovery reminds us of the depth and breadth of Nancy Adams’ legacy, highlighting the enduring impact of her life and work. The illustrations in An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand are another rich example of Nancy Adams’ ability to foster a greater appreciation for the natural world and New Zealand heritage. As we continue researching her life and legacy, I am eager to see what we discover next!
References and additional reading
- Geoff Baylis, Original signed 1988 testimonial of Nancy Adams by G.T.S. Baylis, Emeritus Professor of Botany, The University of Otago. Acquired 2023. Te Papa CA001261
- Jock Phillips, “The Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand: Te Ara,” The New Zealand Journal of History (2003) Vol 37(1), P80 – 89.
- Andrew Brown-May, “Review of Te Ara: The Online Encyclopedia of New Zealand,” The New Zealand Journal of History (2007) Vol 27(2), P227 – 229. New Zealand Journal of History – document
- Alexander Hare McLintock, ed, The Encylopaedia of New Zealand, Wellington: Owen, 1966, vol 1, page xii.
- Alan Mark, “Obituary: Jacqueline Nancy Mary Adams, CBE, QSO. 1926-2007,” New Zealand Journal of Botany, 2007, vol 45:515-519. https://DOI.org/10.1080/00288250709509735
- Wendy Nelson, “In Memoriam: Nancy Adams (1926-2007),” Phycologia (2008) Vol 47 (1), P2.
- Alexander Hare McLintock, ed. An Encylopaedia of New Zealand. Wellington: Owen, 1966, vol 1, page ix.
Kate Hannah. ‘Adams, Nancy Mary’, Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 2019. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/6a3/adams-nancy-mary (accessed 4 March 2025).
Wikipedia contributors, “An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand”, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=An_Encyclopaedia_of_New_Zealand&oldid=1275625676 (accessed March 17, 2025).
Adams’ work bridges art and science with rare precision—her ‘NZ Alpine Plants’ series should be required viewing for ecological illustrators. The Te Papa collection’s pencil underdrawings reveal her obsessive detail: some ferns have 30+ frond studies per specimen. A digital ‘layer slider’ comparing sketches to final paintings would make her process even more accessible.
I had no idea Nancy Adams contributed to An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand! That discovery really emphasizes how artists can influence national identity in ways that often go unnoticed.