Since 1780, the Gotha Research Library has preserved significant material from the naturalist, writer, illustrator, and Enlightenment thinker Georg Forster (1754-1794). They were created during and shortly after James Cook’s second circumnavigation (1772-1775), which geographically, scientifically, and ethnographically opened up previously unknown areas of the Southern Hemisphere up to the Antarctic Sea for Europe. Forster participated in Cook’s expedition as a scientific illustrator.

He designed one of the most fascinating maps of the South Pole for the report on the second circumnavigation. It circles Cook’s dream destination, the non-existent Terra Australis, in a circum-polar projection, giving a hint of the scale of the Antarctic, first discovered and explored since 1820. Forster’s observations of the fauna and flora of the southern hemisphere led to a series of 32 nature paintings created after his journey, depicting birds, plants, fish, and mammals. On Goethe's recommendation, the scientifically-minded Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1745-1804) purchased the collection in 1780 because of its “precision and authenticity” – it is now a treasure of the Gotha collections, which had been discarded by British King George III.

This series is based on hundreds of hand-drawn sketches completed by Forster during his circumnavigation of the world. Today, the majority is located in London. However, the Duke of Gotha was able to purchase 77 botanical sketches that had remained in Forster’s possession until his death. As a result, the Research Library of Gotha now holds the largest collection of Forster’s original botanical drawings, surpassing even the Natural History Museum in London.

The Gotha nature paintings and botanical sketches of Georg Forster represent masterpieces of his artistic scientific work, now scattered around the world. They are among the most valuable collections of the Gotha Research Library.