Cybis created this one-of-a-kind sculpture, the Flower Bouquet of the United States, for display at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York. This massive porcelain floral arrangement is 36” high and 40” wide and includes a representation of each of the official flowers of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia. After the closure of the Fair, the sculpture was placed in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

 

Although the Ispanky book claims that this was one of his pieces, that attribution is only partially correct: The only part of the sculpture that he actually made was the base. The creation of the flowers and leaves was the collaborative work of all of the artists at the Cybis studio, and in fact they hired some additional sculptors to help with the project. I only learned of this recently, firsthand via one of the people who actually took part in its construction.

The bluebird apparantly dates back to the 1950s and is likely to have been one of a pair that may (or may not) have been designed by Ispanky. See Body Snatching at Cybis for an explanation of the travels of this particularly peripatetic passerine.

This bouquet is a lasting testament to the impressive skills of all of the talented artists at the Cybis studio during its ‘Golden Age’ of the 1960s and 1970s.

The official USA state flowers are:

Alabama = Camellia japonica
Alaska = forget-me-not, Myosotis alpestris subsp. asiatica
Arizona = the Saguaro cactus flower, Carnegia gigantea
Arkansas = apple blossom, Malus domestica
California = California poppy, Eschscholzia californica
Colorado = columbine, Aquilegia caerulea
Connecticut = mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia
Delaware = flowering peach blossom, Prunus persica
District of Columbia = the American Beauty rose
Florida = orange blossom, Citrus sinensis
Georgia = the Cherokee rose, Rosa laevigata
Hawaii = the hibiscus flower known as “pua aloalo, Hibiscus brackenridgei
Idaho = mock orange blossom, Philadelphus lewisii
Illinois = the purple violet; no species is identified, simply “the genus Viola”
Indiana = Paeonia lactiflora
Iowa = wild prairie rose, Rosa arkansana
Kansas = the annual sunflower, Helianthus annuus
Kentucky = goldenrod, listed simply as “Solidago spp.” (achoo!!)
Louisiana = Magnolia grandiflora
Maine = this state does not have a state flower per se in the technical sense; the state tree is the Eastern white pine, Pinus strobus, and the flower is listed as the “Eastern white pine tassel and cone”.
Maryland = black-eyed susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Massachusetts = the mayflower, Epigaea repens (and how appropriate!)
Michigan = apple blossom, Malus domestica
Minnesota = the wild ladyslipper orchid, Cypripedium reginae
Mississippi = Magnolia grandiflora
Missouri = the hawthorn blossom, listed simply as “genus Crataegus”
Montana = Lewisia rediviva
Nebraska = the giant goldenrod, Solidago gigantea (double achoo!!!)
Nevada = sagebrush flower, Artemisia tridentata
New Hampshire = lilac, Syringa vulgaris
New Jersey = wild violet, Viola sororia
New York = the rose; no species identified but simply “the genus Rosa”
North Carolina = dogwood, Cornus florida
North Dakota = the wild prairie rose, Rosa arkansana
Ohio = carnation, Dianthus caryophyllus
Oklahoma = mistletoe, Phoradendron leucarpum
Oregon = barberry, Berberis aquifolium
Pennsylvania = mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia
Rhode Island = early blue violet, Viola palmata
South Carolina = jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens
South Dakota = pasque flower, Anemone patens var. multifida
Tennessee = bearded iris, Iris germanica
Texas = the lupine, colloquially called the Texas bluebonnet, designated simply as “genus Lupinus”
Utah = the sego lily, designated as “genus Calochortus”
Vermont = red clover blossom, Trifolium pratense
Virginia = dogwood, Cornus florida
Washington = Rhododendron macrophyllum
West Virginia = Rhododendron maximum
Wyoming = Indian paintbrush, Castilleja linariifolia

The USDA list that also shows the official state trees can be found here.  Although the Cybis bouquet does not include the flowers of the US Territories, they are:

Guam = Bougainvillea spectabilis
Northern Marianas = Plumeria rubra forma acutifolia
Puerto Rico = the Puerto Rico hibiscus, Thespesia grandiflora
U.S. Virgin Islands = the yellow trumpetbush, Tecoma stans

Name Index of Cybis Sculptures
About the Cybis Reference Archive
What is Cybis?

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