Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana) — Signature Fine Art Print

The Saucer Magnolia is one of the first trees to bloom each year, covering its bare branches in late winter with enormous goblet-shaped flowers of pink, rose and white before a single leaf appears. A hybrid first raised in France in the early 1800s, it has become a beloved harbinger of spring in gardens around the world.

In this square-format plate, Robert O'Brien shows the Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia × soulangeana) in full bloom with a life-size flower and leaf study, the names lettered in his own hand.

From The Signature Collection. Robert O'Brien lettered the names on this plate by hand, a personal mark that sets it apart from his typeset series. See all Signature prints.

About the print

• Hand-lettered by the artist on the plate
• Museum-quality giclée on 100% cotton rag Cold Press fine art paper, matte finish
• Archival inks, printed to order in the USA
• Available in large format up to 24x24"
• Ships unframed. Frame under glass or acrylic for best preservation.

About the artist

Robert O'Brien was one of the most prolific and widely published botanical illustrators in the United States. Specializing in trees for more than three decades, he illustrated nearly 100 forestry field guides and nature education publications for clients from Florida to Alaska, including the USDA Forest Service, the Smithsonian, the National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, with work also published in Austria, Canada, Sweden, Brazil and Mexico.

Educated at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Madrid, where he studied the master paintings of the Prado, he developed a distinctive method blending traditional painting with digital technique, achieving a level of botanical accuracy and detail rarely seen in the genre. His archive of more than 500 tree and plant illustrations is now cared for by his daughter, artist Kelly O'Brien.

"When I've nailed it, when I've gotten it right, that piece will go on living, long after I walk away from it." — Robert O'Brien