The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 16, 2026

A vertically oriented watercolor on cream paper depicts a solitary red flower. Smooth, rounded petals with soft white highlights encircle a large yellow center with fine, speckled shading. Five serrated, dark-green leaves with prominent veins splay out from behind the blossom. A slender green stem extends toward the lower right corner. Faint cursive text marks the bottom right, the vibrant botanical study centered against the flat, neutral background.

Chinese Flower

1800s

Mary Altha Nims

(American, 1817–1907)
America
watercolor
Gift of Richard Seymour Bayham 1934.137
Location: Not on view
  • Henry S. Francis, “Water Colors Made by the ‘Theorem Method’ and Drawings”, The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 21, 1934, pp. 128-131, p. 135. www.jstor.org
  • 19th-Century American Drawings by Mary A. Nims. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 16-November 2, 1934).
  • {{cite web|title=Chinese Flower|url=false|author=Mary Altha Nims|year=1800s|access-date=16 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.137