The tale of BEATRIX POTTER

With a new exhibition at the V&A dedicated to one of our most beloved children’s authors, we take a look at her life and work

- ANDREW SHAW

Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, Jemima Puddle-Duck… the adventures of these charming animal characters have enthralled generations of children for more than 100 years. And as well as being a gifted artist and storyteller, Beatrix Potter was a scientist, farmer and environmentalist, whose achievements in conservation have had a lasting effect to the present day.

Early life

Helen Beatrix Potter was born in 1866 in London. Educated by governesses, she turned the schoolroom of her Kensington home into a menagerie filled with rabbits, hedgehogs, frogs, lizards and mice. With an insatiable curiosity, she made detailed sketches of these creatures, as well as plant life and insects. She even dispatched her brother Bertram’s long-eared bat with chloroform so she could stuff it and take careful measurements.

An inquiring mind

As a young adult, Beatrix sold some of her artwork to publishers, including drawings of her pet rabbit Benjamin Bunny. However, she devoted most of her time to the study of subjects such as geology, entomology (insects) and, in particular, mycology (fungi). Her stunning watercolour paintings of mushrooms and toadstools are testament to her supreme skill as a scientific illustrator.