The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 14, 2026

A vertically oriented watercolor painting depicts a large butterfly perched on a stem with serrated leaves winding from the lower right. The wings feature vibrant orange centers seeping into yellow and green at the scalloped edges, which are marked by tiny brown rings. A slender gray body lies against the branch. Faint handwritten text in the lower right corner reads, "Rose Bush and Butterfly," set against a muted, off-white background.

Rose Bush and Butterfly

1800s

Mary Altha Nims

(American, 1817–1907)
America
watercolor
Sheet: 23.6 x 21 cm (9 5/16 x 8 1/4 in.)
Gift of Richard Seymour Bayham 1934.139
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=Rose Bush and Butterfly|url=false|author=Mary Altha Nims|year=1800s|access-date=14 September 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1934.139