Benjamin Wilkes (d.1749) was an English painter and natural-history illustrator best known for his detailed pictures of British moths and butterflies. He described how attending a meeting of the Aurelian Society inspired him to study insects, whose colours and patterns offered lessons for his art. Over many years he observed caterpillars, chrysalises and adult insects and recorded the plants on which they fed.
His book The English Moths and Butterflies appeared in 1749, with later editions and reprints issued after his death. Its hand-coloured copperplates combined scientific interest with decorative arrangements of insects and flowers. The illustration Peacock Butterfly on Smith’s Newington Peach joins the colourful peacock butterfly with a peach variety, reflecting the artist's practice of depicting insects alongside botanical subjects.
Wilkes was assisted in his studies by the naturalist Joseph Dandridge. Although relatively little is known about his personal life, his work belongs to the early history of English entomological illustration and the popular study of natural history, following the pioneering insect studies of Maria Sibylla Merian.
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Wilkes, Benjamin (d.1749) - Peacock Butterfly on Smith's Newington Peach 1747-60
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