About us

The Tulip and the Butterfly is the cherished progeny of Harriet Impey. Harriet has drawn and painted constantly all her life, and as a child longed to be the ship's artist on an expedition of exploration. She was also inspired by the beautiful 18th-century Indian paintings of animals from the menagerie of her great great great great grandmother, Lady Impey of Calcutta, which are now spread in collections around the world.

Sketching from nature	Painting in the atelier

Harriet studied at Cambridge University, and started her artistic career in 2000, when she designed and executed a six-panel painted window series for St Hilda's College chapel in Oxford. She worked with glass for several years, but after becoming disabled she moved onto print-making, acrylics, watercolour, collage and other media. She lives in Leiden, the Netherlands, and her atelier is situated in the heart of the city. She has had several recent exhibitions in Leiden and Oxford, including Galerie Zone, Galerie Isabelle Riffon, and restaurant Dende.

Harriet's atelier

The name 'The Tulip and the Butterfly' is inspired by a poem by Isaac Watts (1674-1748), which voices Harriet's very strong connection to the designs of nature: she believes passionately in drawing from life.