King Orchid - Brazil

William Seltzer Rice

In 1915, William Seltzer Rice visited the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California, and it was there he saw and grew intrigued by the Japanese woodblock prints. He began his study and work in woodblock prints, developing his own methods of printing, including oil based inks, which he applied using brushes.

Rice's woodcut prints were inspired by the nature he saw wherever he traveled. An amateur botonist, he was intrigued by plants and flowers. In this color woodcut the flatness of the orchids reflect the influence Japanese woodcut prints had on Rice. Japanese prints displayed less dimension and depth, but its flatness and simplicity draws viewers to the use of color and delicacy of the lines and design.

Though Rice identifies this orchid as a “King Orchid”, which is found primarily in Australia, it is more likely that this is a “Laelia purpurata” or "Sophronitis purpurata" which is found in the Atlantic forests of Brazil.