The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 16, 2026

A horizontally oriented watercolor depicts a butterfly, wings spread, against an off-white background. The butterfly has a long black body centered vertically. Its upper wings are deep green with thin, wavy reddish-brown lines. The lower wings transition from light blue to dark gray with three rust-colored circular spots on each side. Two thin antennae curve upward, and faint, handwritten text reading "Butterfly" appears in the lower right corner.

Butterfly

1800s

Mary Altha Nims

(American, 1817–1907)
America
watercolor
Gift of Richard Seymour Bayham 1934.140
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=Butterfly|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/1934.140