Alice R. Tangerini (born April 25, 1949) is an American botanical illustrator. In 1972, Tangerini was hired as a staff illustrator for the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History by American botanist Lyman Bradford Smith. Prior to working at the Smithsonian Institution, she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University. As of March 9, 2017, Tangerini remains the only botanical illustrator ever hired by the Smithsonian. Aside from illustration, Tangerini also teaches classes on the subject and serves as a manager and curator for the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History. In 2005, she lost sight in her right eye following an unidentified injury, and has diplopia due to a subsequent surgery. She has received the "Distinguished Service Award" from Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the "Excellence in Scientific Botanical Art" award from the American Society of Botanical Artists. She has also been credited as one of the leading figures in her field by American botanist Warren H. Wagner and the Smithsonian Associates. Early life and education Alice R. Tangerini was born on April 25, 1949 in Takoma Park, Maryland. Drawing has been her "life's passion" since the age of four. As a high school student, she met botanist Lyman Bradford Smith through a friend of the family. He went on to become her mentor, with one of their lessons adding up to six hours, where Smith often had Tangerini illustrate plants using a dead model. While attending the Virginia Commonwealth University, Tangerini spent her summers working at the Smithsonian Institution. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1972. Following her graduation, Tangerini was hired by Smith to work as a staff illustrator for the Department of Botany at the National Museum of Natural History. She thus became the first botanical illustrator hired by the Smithsonian Institution. Career Tangerini primarily does her illustrations in the United States National Herbarium, and worked under American botanist Warren H. Wagner. Even though she frequently relies on pressed and dried herbarium specimens as her models, she does go on location to areas such as California, Hawaii, and Guyana to see the flora in their natural environment. She differentiated botanical art from fine art by clarifying that "botanical art had to be recognized at least to genus, if not to species". According to the American Society of Botanical Artists, Tangerini has