Marjorie Netta Blamey MBE (13 March 1918 – 8 September 2019) was an English painter and illustrator, particularly noted for her botanical illustrations for which she was described as "the finest living botanical illustrator", "the best contemporary botanical illustrator" and "the top illustrator in Europe" in reviews around the world. Life and work Born in Talawakelle, Sri Lanka, Marjorie Blamey was the daughter of Arthur Day, a doctor, and Janette Newton-Baker, a nurse. She spent her early years from 1921 in the UK, on the Isle of Wight and Epsom, Surrey, where she was encouraged to paint and draw. Ability at acting led her to win a scholarship to RADA in 1934 and parts in several films. She was also a successful photographer and exhibited at the London Salon of Photography. During the Second World War she trained and then worked as a nurse and drove ambulances. She met her future husband who was a junior officer in the Staffordshire regiment. They married in 1941 and subsequently had 4 children. After the war, she and her husband successfully ran a small dairy farm near Liskeard for 20 years. An editor from a London publishing house spotted her work at a display of amateur art in Cornwall and her career as a full-time book illustrator was born. She thus took up illustrating professionally at the age of 48. Her first commission was for a book on magnolias by the Cornish horticulturist Neil Treseder. Another early book, and Marjorie Blamey's first major success, was Wildflowers Of Britain And Ireland, published by Collins in their famous Pocket Guide series. Translated into all European languages, it has sold more than a million copies and was still in print in 2020. She illustrated this book and the text was written by Richard Fitter, probably the most successful author of natural history field guides ever. Fitter's son Alastair contributed the distribution maps. Blamey stated "It was a privilege to work with Richard. He was such a vivid writer." She soon became regarded as one of the leading botanical illustrators in the world. Over the years, the Blameys' built up an archive of more than 10,000 paintings of flowers from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean, which were used in publications worldwide. They travelled extensively so she could paint specimens and flowers were also sent to her. These illustrations were all carefully kept in files as well