The Fox and the Crow
Watercolour
1919 (made)
1919 (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.
In the 1890s, before becoming a published author, Beatrix Potter wrote out versions of, and made illustrations for, Aesop’s fables. Potter’s illustrations of well-known tales by other authors reveal her ability to bring the tales into her own imaginative world, her illustrations characterised by animal characters rendered with their natural behaviours and anatomy in mind.
She came back to her early interest in Aesop in 1918 with the publication of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (Frederick Warne), based on the fable of ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’. Potter then continued developing ideas based on Aesop’s fables in relation to her next book, which she planned as an amalgam of fables featuring Miss Jenny Crow and a fox. She sent a draft to her publishers, Frederick Warne & Co., writing, ‘I very much hope this may find favour? As I have (perhaps rashly!) started some of the pictures. Also crow shooting starts on Saturday so I have hopes of both models & pies.’ Her publishers, however, were unconvinced, replying: ‘it is not Miss Potter, it is Aesop.’
This illustration is based on the fable of ‘The Fox and the Crow’ and was probably made for the planned 1919 book. But, as noted above, Potter’s engagement with Aesop’s fables started considerably earlier. See museum numbers Linder Bequest BP.1140(a) and BP.1140(b) for earlier versions.
In the 1890s, before becoming a published author, Beatrix Potter wrote out versions of, and made illustrations for, Aesop’s fables. Potter’s illustrations of well-known tales by other authors reveal her ability to bring the tales into her own imaginative world, her illustrations characterised by animal characters rendered with their natural behaviours and anatomy in mind.
She came back to her early interest in Aesop in 1918 with the publication of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (Frederick Warne), based on the fable of ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’. Potter then continued developing ideas based on Aesop’s fables in relation to her next book, which she planned as an amalgam of fables featuring Miss Jenny Crow and a fox. She sent a draft to her publishers, Frederick Warne & Co., writing, ‘I very much hope this may find favour? As I have (perhaps rashly!) started some of the pictures. Also crow shooting starts on Saturday so I have hopes of both models & pies.’ Her publishers, however, were unconvinced, replying: ‘it is not Miss Potter, it is Aesop.’
This illustration is based on the fable of ‘The Fox and the Crow’ and was probably made for the planned 1919 book. But, as noted above, Potter’s engagement with Aesop’s fables started considerably earlier. See museum numbers Linder Bequest BP.1140(a) and BP.1140(b) for earlier versions.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Fox and the Crow |
| Materials and techniques | watercolour with pencil on card |
| Brief description | Watercolour and pencil illustration to Aesop's 'The Fox and the Crow'; by Beatrix Potter, ca. 1919; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.958 |
| Physical description | An illustration in an oval format showing a crow with a piece of cheese in its mouth perched on a branch, a fox looking up at the crow. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Gallery label | In 1919 Potter sent her publisher a manuscript containing several fables. Fruing Warne saw the charm of a story about Jenny Crow – labelled ‘The Folly of Vanity’ and based on ‘The Fox and the Crow’ – but was disappointed that ‘it is not Miss Potter, it is Aesop’. This irritated Potter, who replied: ‘when you infer that my originality is more precious than old Aesop’s you do put your foot in it!’(August 2022) |
| Credit line | Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number] |
| Object history | 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. In the 1890s, before becoming a published author, Beatrix Potter wrote out versions of, and made illustrations for, Aesop’s fables. Potter’s illustrations of well-known tales by other authors reveal her ability to bring the tales into her own imaginative world, her illustrations characterised by animal characters rendered with their natural behaviours and anatomy in mind. She came back to her early interest in Aesop in 1918 with the publication of The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse (Frederick Warne), based on the fable of ‘The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse’. Potter then continued developing ideas based on Aesop’s fables in relation to her next book, which she planned as an amalgam of fables featuring Miss Jenny Crow and a fox. She sent a draft to her publishers, Frederick Warne & Co., writing, ‘I very much hope this may find favour? As I have (perhaps rashly!) started some of the pictures. Also crow shooting starts on Saturday so I have hopes of both models & pies.’ Her publishers, however, were unconvinced, replying: ‘it is not Miss Potter, it is Aesop.’ This illustration is based on the fable of ‘The Fox and the Crow’ and was probably made for the planned 1919 book. But, as noted above, Potter’s engagement with Aesop’s fables started considerably earlier. See museum numbers Linder Bequest BP.1140(a) and BP.1140(b) for earlier versions. |
| 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.104; no.958
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.104; no.958 |
| Other number | LB.958 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.1140(c) |
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| Record created | October 5, 2016 |
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