Moriarty’s atmospheric photographs of historical greenhouses are the subject of DelArt’s latest exhibition. Curator Heather Campbell Coyle discusses the series with the artist.
What got you interested in greenhouses as a subject?
When I started the Warm Room series I was living about ten miles from the Planting Fields Arboretum on Long Island. I had been working on a series of Cherished Possessions photographs, which relied upon people and their connections to prized objects. The light filled spaces of greenhouses presented a new beginning without the boundaries imposed by people.
When you received the grants to expand the project, how did you decide where to go?
When I received a grant to add a European perspective to the American works, I asked the curators at the New York Botanical Garden’s Metz Library where they would go during a six-week project. Ultimately an international collector donated fifty-seven prints from the series to their archive.
The photograph of the Palm House at Kew Gardens is on the cover of your book and it’s quite compelling. Can you describe how you captured it?
When I arrived at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, it was morning, and the sun was behind me. I needed to wait until the evening to make the Palm House photograph when the light was coming from behind the massive structure.
What was it like working in the new greenhouses at Longwood compared to the historic ones?
Longwood Re-imagined builds upon the historic use of light and water to present plants in a bright and welcoming space. The simplification of the new structure fosters an easy connection between the interior and exterior of the garden.
You produce traditional photographs, using film and doing your own printing in gelatin silver. Why is that your preference?
The late Paul Caponigro and Emmet Gowin were two early teachers in my development as an artist. They each make wonderful silver prints. While I know digital technology and value it for making color prints, I continue to love the luminosity of silver prints for making black-and-white works. I use a Leica camera and enlarger to enhance the qualities that I create in the darkroom.
Come see Warm Room: Photographs of Historic Greenhouses by Peter Moriarty through January 25, 2026. Meet the artist and get a copy of his book at the October 17 Members Preview.
Peter Moriarty’s work is in numerous public collections in the United States and in England and he is represented by BigTown Gallery in Vermont.
Image: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Palm House, 2010–2020. Peter A. Moriarty (born 1952). Gelatin silver print, 16 × 20 inches. Courtesy of the artist. © Peter Moriarty.