Erica Lennard

American, 1950 -

Erica Lennard (born 1950, New York City) received a B.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1971. She soon moved to Paris, where she began her career as a photographer. For over twenty-five years Lennard has concentrated on the exploration of nature, specifically gardens, in her work, photographing gardens throughout the world from the extravagance of Europe's most famous formal estates to the austere elegance of Zen gardens in Japan. Rather than present the colorful world that comes to mind when we think of gardens, Lennard chooses to depict her subjects in black and white. Focusing the viewer’s attention on the concrete forms and textures of plants and trees, she conjures up distant memories and dreamlike sensibilities, exemplified in the delicate soft focus of Water Lilies,Tunisia, the eerie white glow of Wisteria, America, or the fairy-tale quality of Marly-le-Roi, France and Hampstead Heath, England, where the groupings of trees are humorously reminiscent of family portraits. In addition to her publications––Classic Gardens (Lustrum Press) and Artists’ Gardens (Abrams)––Lennard exhibits her work in galleries and museums worldwide and regularly contributes to international magazines, including Elle, Elle Decoration, French Vogue, and House Beautiful.