Because Baskin’s vision is often a dark one, and to call a work “Baskin-like” conveys an unsentimental confrontation with mortality and the political forces of our time, many people are unfamiliar with his equally potent floral images. Baskin’s exploration of the natural world is direct and accessible, without any lessening of his powerful personal vision. He has explored the forms of Irises, Thistles, Weeds and a range of flowers, both in books of his own composition, and as companions to poems by Ted Hughes, Anthony Hecht, and others.