Two squirrels sitting on a log
Watercolour
ca. 1894 (made)
ca. 1894 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
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.
This highly detailed watercolour of two red squirrels on a log was probably intended as a design for a greetings card. A number of other versions of this composition exist in varying degrees of finish; a group of three drawings sold at Sotheby’s in 2008 (lot 302) and there are various versions in the Warne Archive, including a back view of the squirrels. Potter may have intended the design as a greetings card for Hildesheimer & Faulkner in the 1890s. In 1928 Frederick Warne & Co. considered using them as covers for a calendar.
Potter’s best known depiction of red squirrels was within her ‘little book’, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Frederick Warne 1903).
This highly detailed watercolour of two red squirrels on a log was probably intended as a design for a greetings card. A number of other versions of this composition exist in varying degrees of finish; a group of three drawings sold at Sotheby’s in 2008 (lot 302) and there are various versions in the Warne Archive, including a back view of the squirrels. Potter may have intended the design as a greetings card for Hildesheimer & Faulkner in the 1890s. In 1928 Frederick Warne & Co. considered using them as covers for a calendar.
Potter’s best known depiction of red squirrels was within her ‘little book’, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Frederick Warne 1903).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Two squirrels sitting on a log (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | watercolour over pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Watercolour over pencil drawing of two squirrels on a log, probably intended as a design for a greetings card, drawn ca.1894; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.396. |
| Physical description | A highly finished watercolour study, with traces of pencil drawing beneath, showing two red squirrels on a log, one eating a nut. The white highlights on the fur look like gouache. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Credit line | Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number] |
| Object history | Drawn by Beatrix Potter ca. 1894. Acquired by the V&A from Leslie Linder (1904-1973) in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest, a collection of ca. 2150 watercolours, drawings, literary manuscripts, correspondence, books, photographs, and other memorabilia associated with Beatrix Potter and her family. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | 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. This highly detailed watercolour of two red squirrels on a log was probably intended as a design for a greetings card. A number of other versions of this composition exist in varying degrees of finish; a group of three drawings sold at Sotheby’s in 2008 (lot 302) and there are various versions in the Warne Archive, including a back view of the squirrels. Potter may have intended the design as a greetings card for Hildesheimer & Faulkner in the 1890s. In 1928 Frederick Warne & Co. considered using them as covers for a calendar. Potter’s best known depiction of red squirrels was within her ‘little book’, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (Frederick Warne 1903). |
| Bibliographic reference | Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection : the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material : watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985.
p. 43; no.396
Hobbs, Anne Stevenson, and Joyce Irene Whalley, eds. Beatrix Potter: the V & A collection: the Leslie Linder bequest of Beatrix Potter material: watercolours, drawings, manuscripts, books, photographs and memorabilia. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985.p.43; no.396 |
| Other number | LB.396 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.376 |
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| Record created | April 2, 2015 |
| Record URL |
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