The Beatrix Potter Gallery
Main Street, Hawkshead, Cumbria LA22 0NS
Telephone: 015394 36355
Email:  beatrixpottergallery@nationaltrust.org.uk

Step inside this charming 17th-century building to enjoy an exhibition of Beatrix Potter's original watercolours and paintings. Many of these pictures are only displayed at this location. Learn more about Beatrix as a farmer and early supporter of the National Trust. This gallery has an interesting history, as previously it was the office of Beatrix Potter's husband, William Heelis.

New exhibition for 2010 is 'Keeping House' with Mrs Tittlemouse, celebrating 100 years of The Tale of Mrs Tittlemouse.

Children’s trail based on the displays.

Cicely Mary Barker (1895–1973)
Illustration of the Pink Fairies for
Flower Fairies of the Garden, 1944.
© The Estate of Cicely Mary Barker, 2009

In the early 20th century there was a widespread enthusiasm for flower fairies. This originated in J.J. Grandville's illustrations to Les Fleurs Animées of 1847 incited by the Narcissus, Grandville's flowers become disenchanted with their 'flower-life' and beg the Flower Fairy to permit them to live on earth as humans. In the late 19th century and onwards, the genre developed further in the work of Kate Greenaway and other artists, and in the 1920s it was popularised by Cicely Mary Barker, beginning in 1923 with her Flower Fairies of the Spring. In her fascination with natural history and scientific observation Cicely Mary Barker has often been associated with Beatrix Potter.  Potter also imagined 'a fairyland amongst the wild flowers, the animals, fungi, mosses, woods and streams, all the thousand objects of the countryside'. 

Both artists began their careers producing designs for greetings cards manufacturers, and both were largely self-taught.  Potter's lack of formal schooling preserved her originality, while Barker claimed to draw 'without any real thought or attention to artistic theories'. However, both were strongly influenced by what Potter described as the Pre-Raphaelites' 'niggling but absolutely genuine admiration for copying natural details'.  Their principal concern was to explore the world of the imagination while remaining faithful to the true likeness of things.  Sketching always from life, Barker produced meticulous preparatory studies of flowers and even obtained cuttings of less common varieties from Kew Gardens.  Both she and Potter show a keen eye for natural beauty and a botanist's concern for scientific accuracy. 

V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Tel. 020 7942 2000            www.vam.ac.uk

Peter Rabbit™: the tale of The Tale
Victoria and Albert Museum
3 July 2010 – 8 January 2011

This summer, an original art display following the adventure of Beatrix Potter’s much loved story The Tale of Peter Rabbit will open at the V&A.

Peter Rabbit™: the tale of The Tale will drawon the collections of both the V&A and Frederick Warne to trace the story of Peter Rabbit from its beginnings in an illustrated letter in 1893, to its publication by Frederick Warne & Co. in 1902, and beyond. Widely considered to be one of the most popular children’s books of all time, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has gone on to sell an astonishing 40 million copies worldwide.

For the first time, the complete extant original illustrations from the book will be shown in sequence alongside the text of the story. Audio listening posts will also allow visitors to re-live the charm of this well-known tale.  As well as original illustrations, Beatrix Potter’s manuscripts and personal correspondence to her publishers will be on display, throwing light on her artistic and literary technique and concern for the overall design of the book. The display will also include the original picture letter written by Beatrix Potter in 1893 to her young friend, Noel Moore, which first introduced a mischievous little rabbit called Peter.

In addition to the display, a dedicated study day on the art of Beatrix Potter will take place at the Museum on 13 November 2010.
V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Tel. 020 7942 2000            www.vam.ac.uk