Essentially self-taught, the young Beatrix Potter copied from nature or from books and drawing manuals, and studied the works of Constable, Gainsborough and Turner in the Royal Academy exhibitions. She was grateful that her education was largely neglected, ‘it would have rubbed off some of the originality.’ However, it was customary for girls of Beatrix’s social class to be proficient at the genteel arts, including painting and drawing, so from November 1878 to May 1883 the Potters arranged drawing lessons for Beatrix and enrolled her at the new National Art Training School in South Kensington to sit her Second Grade Art Student Certificate.

This generic student piece, featuring a Japanese drawing manual, is competent enough. Beatrix was even awarded an ‘Excellent’ in her examinations at the National Art Training School. However, her drawings from this period convey a dark and listless formality that seems in retrospect to be at odds with the light humour and exuberance of her imaginative book illustrations. Beatrix remained sceptical of the value of formal art training: ‘Painting is an awkward thing to teach except the details of the medium. If you and your master are determined to look at nature and art in two different directions you are sure to stick.’