Exhibition marking international women's day to be held in London

Artwork of more than 60 female illustrators will put on show in the Natural History Museum in London on Saturday in marking of the International Women's Day. The exhibition, the Images of Nature, will showcase women artists' works that have been used in science over the past four centuries, most of which have never been on public display before. "For hundreds of years, women artists have made an outstanding contribution to natural history art, yet historically they were rarely celebrated to the same extent as their male counterparts," said the exhibition curator Andrea Hart. "This display showcases the Natural History Museum's beautiful and scientifically important collection of art created by women. What better time to recognize their contribution to both art and science than on International Women's Day," Hart said. "International women's day is recognizing woman's achievements is also highlighting very important issues surrounding women and is just a great way of celebrating their art work and is wonderful we can open in the same day such an important international day for women." According to the museum, the artworks on show are featured different periods, backgrounds and social classes, and had a broad range of motivations for taking up natural history art. Some artists painted for leisure while others did so to generate income. Some were employed to illustrate the scientific and taxonomic work of the Museum's scientists - and some were scientists in their own right. Whether drawing rare plant species, painting newly discovered fish or creating a record of common species of wildlife, accuracy was essential to their craft. The display will be on show from 8 March to July 2015 in the Natural History Museum in London.