ONLINE PHOTO EXHIBITION: Magnificent Trees of Asia (Harvard University Asia Center)
Magnificent Trees of Asia
An Exhibition of Photography by Ernest Henry Wilson, Arnold Arboretum Horticultural Library
Archived from an exhibition presented by Harvard University Asia Center, January-March 2018
In my next life, I will ask not to return as a man
But to be a pine tree rustling alone against the sky.
—Nguyen Cong Tru
The Asia-related centers at Harvard periodically spotlight some of the vast Asian resources at the University. Featured in this exhibit are a selection of photographs of trees in Asia by Ernest Henry Wilson from Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum Horticultural Library. Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930) was the furthest traveled of all the Arnold Arboretum’s plant explorers of the early twentieth century. From 1899 to 1930, he visited dozens of countries including China, Japan, and Korea, collected thousands of plant specimens (cuttings and seeds), and took thousands of incredible photographs documenting trees and forests, landscapes, and ethnography which testify to his legacy.
Wilson was a popular lecturer on the topics of his travels and horticulture. After Sargent’s death in 1927, he became “Keeper” of the Arnold Arboretum. Three years later, his career was cut short when he and his wife were tragically killed in an automobile accident.
Ernest Henry Wilson’s photographs and biography can be found on the Arnold Arboretum’s website along with those of other explorers to Asia and information on the Arboretum’s Asia Programs.