Bedroom. Camfield Place. Hatfield. Herts.
- Object:
- Place of origin:
Camfield Place, Essendon, Hertfordshire, England (made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Beatrix Potter, born 1866 - died 1943 (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Pen and ink and pencil on paper
- Credit Line:
Copyright Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
- Image unavailable
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.
From childhood, Beatrix Potter studied and sketched the old furnishings and oak-panelled rooms of the houses she visited. She often depicted favourite pieces of furniture in her book illustrations; for example, the long-case clock and 'Welsh' dresser in her Lake District home at Hill Top appear in The Tale of Samuel Whiskers. In later life, Beatrix Potter became a farmer and a passionate advocate for the preservation of the English countryside. She developed a keen interest in buying and restoring traditional Lake District farmhouses and in collecting and researching English regional furniture.
Camfield Place in the village of Essendon, Hatfield, was the home of Beatrix Potter's grandparents, Edmund Potter (1802-1883) and Jessy Crompton (1801-1891). Beatrix Potter described it as 'the place I love best in the world'. She visited several times between 1882 and 1888, recording her impressions in her journal and sketching both interior and exterior views. This is a drawing of her bedroom at Camfield Place, called bedroom 'no. 4'. After her grandmother's death she was given the bed, chair and mirror depicted in the drawing.
Bedroom no. 4 at Camfield Place inspired the settings of several imaginative drawings by Beatrix Potter, including ink sketches of a rabbit (assumed to be Peter Rabbit) asleep in a half-tester bed.
Physical description
Pen and ink and pencil drawing on paper of a bedroom interior with a half-tester bed (with quilt), window, oval mirror, and a chair partly visible on the left. With manuscript notes below in pencil by Beatrix Potter.
Place of Origin
Camfield Place, Essendon, Hertfordshire, England (made)
Date
1882-1888 (made)
Artist/maker
Beatrix Potter, born 1866 - died 1943 (artist)
Materials and Techniques
Pen and ink and pencil on paper
Marks and inscriptions
Inscription in pencil on recto: Bedroom. Camfield Place. Hatfield. Herts. / 'No 4' where I always slept. / After my grandmother's death I asked for the / bedstead with green hangings. The chair, / the looking-glass & 3 pictures were given me. / I still have them. Also the alabaster / figure of Ariadne riding the leopard, which / was under a glass shade on the mantelpiece. / The red bed quilt also I had many years at B. [olton] Gardens'.
Dimensions
Height: 177 mm, Width: 113 mm
Object history note
Drawn by Beatrix Potter at Camfield Place, Essendon, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, probably some time between 1882 and 1888. Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) as part of the Linder Bequest in 1973.
Exhibition History
The Big Green Book: Maurice Sendak's tribute to Beatrix Potter (Beatrix Potter showcase) (Victoria and Albert Museum 11/09/2006-07/05/2007)
Pierre Lapin (Musée d'Orsay 29/09/1992-06/01/1993)
Beatrix Potter in Hertfordshire (Mill Green Museum & Water Mill 15/04/1984-16/09/1984)
Beatrix Potter: a Christmas exhibition (Victoria and Albert Museum 14/12/1972-28/01/1973)
An exhibition of Beatrix Potter original drawings from the Leslie Linder collection (Woburn Abbey Antiques Centre 16/11/1969-07/12/1969)
Beatrix Potter & Kate Greenaway: National Library Week exhibition (Camden Town Hall 13/03/1967-01/04/1967)
Beatrix Potter 1866-1943 (Walthamstow Book Fair) (18/11/1966-03/12/1966)
Beatrix Potter Centenary Exhibition (National Book League 13/07/1966-30/07/1966)
Materials
Paper; Pencil; Ink
Techniques
Drawing
Subjects depicted
Windows; Chairs; Interior views; Mirrors; Bedrooms; Beds; Quilts; Half-tester beds; Camfield Place, Essendon, Hertfordshire
Categories
Drawings
Production Type
Unique
Collection code
AAD
