Tribute to phytopathologist Dr. Bea Schwarz | series women in science

Drawing in charcoal and pastel on gesso prepared paper. ø 40 cm (ø 47 cm framed) This drawing is made for the exhibition at Art The Hague.

Bea Schwarz discovered the fungus that caused the elm disease. She got her PhD in 1922 on the subject. The first female professor in the Netherlands, Johanna Westerdijk, was her promotor. On this drawing we see Bea Schwarz (left) and Johanna Westerdijk (right) and we see the grafted elm tree that was named after Bea Schwarz. This actual tree was planted in 1971 at the Sloterplas in Amsterdam.