Image of Gallery in South Kensington
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Watercolour

1900
Artist/Maker

Lakefield (later Eeswyke), a house where Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) stayed during several summer breaks with her family between 1896 and 1902, can just be made out here. The retaining wall and pavilion in the right hand corner give way to a dramatic view of Esthwaite Water – in Potter’s opinion the most beautiful of the lakes.

Esthwaite Water is one of the smaller lakes of the Lake District, situated between Windermere and Coniston Water. It is the closest lake to the village of Near Sawrey. Potter visited the village on family holidays and later settled there at Castle Cottage (and bought other farms, properties and land in the area). Potter has said that Sawrey is Jeremy Fisher's home and it is widely thought that Esthwaite Water served as the backdrop for many of the illustrations for The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher published in 1906.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three original Peter Rabbit books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
watercolour on paper
Brief description
Drawing of a view of Esthwaite Water from Lakefield, watercolour over pencil, by Beatrix Potter, Esthwaite Water, possibly 1900, Linder Collection object no. LC.3.A.3; catalogue no.3.59.
Physical description
Retaining wall and pavilion of Lakefield (an estate near Sawrey, Cumbria) depicted on right-hand side of painting. Pink and purple flowers can be seen jutting over the boundary wall. View of Esthwaite Water, one of the smaller lakes of the Lake District, with trees in front and fells behind. In the middle-ground there is a horse and cart taking hay from the field.
Dimensions
  • Width: 356mm
  • Height: 254mm
size of paper
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Given by the Linder Collection
Object history
Given by Leslie Linder (1904-1973) to the National Book League (now the Book Trust) in 1970 as part of a representative selection of Beatrix Potter's work. This selection, comprising 279 drawings and 38 early editions and now known as the Linder Collection, was formerly on long-term loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1989 and 2019 form the charitable trust, The Linder Trust.
Subjects depicted
Places depicted
Summary
Lakefield (later Eeswyke), a house where Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) stayed during several summer breaks with her family between 1896 and 1902, can just be made out here. The retaining wall and pavilion in the right hand corner give way to a dramatic view of Esthwaite Water – in Potter’s opinion the most beautiful of the lakes.

Esthwaite Water is one of the smaller lakes of the Lake District, situated between Windermere and Coniston Water. It is the closest lake to the village of Near Sawrey. Potter visited the village on family holidays and later settled there at Castle Cottage (and bought other farms, properties and land in the area). Potter has said that Sawrey is Jeremy Fisher's home and it is widely thought that Esthwaite Water served as the backdrop for many of the illustrations for The Tale of Mr Jeremy Fisher published in 1906.

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three original Peter Rabbit books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale.
Bibliographic reference
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson (compiler). The Linder Collection of the works and drawings of Beatrix Potter: catalogue of works on paper. London: The Trustees of the Linder Collection, 1996 (1999 reprint). Brief catalogue entry, no. 3.59.
Other numbers
  • LOAN:LINDER TRUST.19-1994 - Previous Loan Number
  • 3.59 - Linder Collection catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
LC 3/A/3

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Record createdDecember 2, 2011
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