Dorothea Barlowe, passionate illustrator of nature, dies at 95

"I pray that when I leave this good, green earth, whatever God or Nature really is, will take my soul and let it wander through the forests to watch the new spring flowers grow and reach to touch the newborn leaflets on the trees."

Amy Barlowe Bodman first read that inscription on the second-to-last page of a small, black notebook she discovered while cleaning out her music studio. The author was her mother, Dorothea Barlowe.

"[That quote was] most definitely a poignant affirmation that all is as it should be …" said Bodman of Akron, Ohio, of her mother's legacy. "My mom was loving; empathetic; artistically gifted and inspiring in so many ways. She had huge respect for nature and all creatures and was the warmest person."

Dorothea "Dot" Barlowe, of Massapequa, was best known for her stunning works of art depicting botanicals and wildlife scenes. A creative visionary and true talent, she died on July 21 of natural causes at age 95, her daughter said.

Barlowe's passion for art was evident from a young age.

As recalled by Bodman, Barlowe's love of nature inspired numerous childhood and later family visits to museums, such as the American Museum of Natural History, where her fascination with the animal world and their particular environments inspired Barlowe to illustrate these creatures with enormous attention to detail.

She was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, and graduated early from the High School of Music & Art in Manhattan (now Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts) and afterward, studied art at The Cooper Union.

She wed Sy Barlowe in 1946 and they were married for 54 years, until his death in 2000. They worked as a team of nature illustrators for 50 years, beginning their professional careers at the American Museum of Natural History where Barlowe was a staff illustrator.

Together they illustrated more than 30 nature books, including Golden Nature Guides "Trees," "Seashores" and "Non-Flowering Plants," and a wide array of regional guides; National Audubon Society Field Guides; noted encyclopedia contributions; scientific reference books such as "The Ocean World of Jacques Cousteau," and numerous children’s books.

The Barlowes also contributed nature centerfolds to Newsday’s Sunday Magazine.

"Dot was such an incredibly talented woman who I loved working with and who will be greatly missed. But her art, and the joy that it brings, will live on forever," said Diane Teitel Rubins, associate publisher of Dover Publications.

Barlowe taught botanical illustration at Manhattan's Parsons School of Design and enjoyed gardening, reading mysteries, traveling — especially up the East Coast to Maine and Canada's Nova Scotia province — and, of course, painting.

The couple moved to Massapequa sometime in the very late '40s or very early '50s, their daughter said.

"Her artistic dedication and discipline were both inspiring and fundamental to the aspects of art that my brother, Wayne, and I have pursued throughout our lives," said Bodman, who is a violinist and composer while her brother is a well-known creature concept artist.

"Dot was remarkable; so intelligent; profoundly gifted and wise," added family friend Anita King of Salem, Oregon.

The Wilderness Center (TWC) in Wilmot, Ohio, held a very special place in Barlowe's heart and now showcases her talents. The center was entrusted with the Barlowe Collection, comprising finished pieces, publisher proofs, sketches in process, and published materials.

Carrie Elvey, senior naturalist at TWC, is proud to "play a part in preserving and sharing this work.

"As nature illustrators, they [Dot and Sy Barlowe] crafted hundreds of books and articles, and thousands of images, allowing us to learn, explore, and dream," she said. "Seeing the original publisher proofs and watercolors from the books we grew up reading is like holding a piece of your childhood in your hand."

Barlowe's family had a small memorial ceremony by a pond in the woods at the center, where her daughter scattered her ashes. Shortly afterward, Barlowe's daughter found the poem about where her mother would want her soul to remain.

In addition to her daughter, Barlowe is survived by her son, Wayne Barlowe of Rumson, New Jersey; four granddaughters; and two great-granddaughters.