Cora’s wonderful floral art, created in Arizona between 1925 and 1951, appeared on PBS Antiques Roadshow on April 3, 2017.  To see her segment on the show, click this link: Antiques Roadshow Cora Mosher

Under the guidance of Douglas Ripley, President of the Arizona Native Plant Society (https://aznps.com/), her complete collection of Arizona cacti and flowers plus some drawings of her surroundings in Greer, Arizona, were published in their summer 2020 issue of The Plant Press and can be enjoyed by all at this URL: https://aznps.com/wp-content/uploads/anps-20i-webfinal1rotated.pdf

Cora’s Floral Art collection, consisting of 141 colored pencil drawings covering 280 individual plants, is probably the most complete collection of art featuring Arizona cacti and wildflowers in existence.  Her eye and hand for detail were recognized as unique by experts at the Monte Bean Museum at BYU in Provo, Utah.  Common names assigned by Cora to the flora in the drawings are given in the gallery and the complete index to the collection can be accessed on the gallery page.  Because of the amazing detail in her work, scientific names could be assigned to most of the individual flowers and plants by personnel at the Monte Bean Museum and are preserved in the main index to the collection. Doug Ripley and his knowledgeable team of plant experts have updated the scientific names as plant taxonomy has advanced since they were viewed and studied by the Monte Bean personnel and the updated names can be seen in The Plant Press issue.

Antiques Roadshow visited Salt Lake City on their 2016 tour and Cora’s grandson, L. Cameron Mosher, took the suitcase containing the drawing collection to the event.  Graydon Sikes, one of the appraisers for the Roadshow, was excited about the collection and presented it to the show producers who selected it for one of the “center stage” appraisals.  Graydon interviewed Mosher on camera and PBS broadcast the interview nationally on April 3, 2017.  Thanks to Antiques Roadshow and the Arizona Native Plant Society, Cora’s amazing drawings of Arizona flora have received the publicity they deserve and can now be seen by all at the links above.

Your interest in individual drawings or the collection is invited.  Samples of Cora’s drawings in this copyrighted collection can be viewed in the gallery on this website.  The entire collection can be seen in The Plant Press issue referenced above. Use the “Contact Us” form for information or the “Comments” form to leave a comment.