Kep
Watercolour
5 March 1909 (drawn)
5 March 1909 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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.
Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top in Near Sawrey, her first Lake District farm, in 1905. After this date she visited Hill Top regularly for holidays, eventually settling permanently in nearby Castle Cottage following her marriage in 1913. This study of ‘Kep’, one of Beatrix Potter’s sheepdogs, dates from a visit to Near Sawrey in March 1909, when Potter made a number of studies of the Lakeland landscape in snow. Potter gave this drawing to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of her cousin Ethel, who stuck it in an album: remnants of the album can be seen in the floral motif adhered to the lower left of the design, and in a drawing by Amy Hyde Parker attached to the back of the study.
Another version of this composition exists in the Linder Collection, which is also housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top in Near Sawrey, her first Lake District farm, in 1905. After this date she visited Hill Top regularly for holidays, eventually settling permanently in nearby Castle Cottage following her marriage in 1913. This study of ‘Kep’, one of Beatrix Potter’s sheepdogs, dates from a visit to Near Sawrey in March 1909, when Potter made a number of studies of the Lakeland landscape in snow. Potter gave this drawing to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of her cousin Ethel, who stuck it in an album: remnants of the album can be seen in the floral motif adhered to the lower left of the design, and in a drawing by Amy Hyde Parker attached to the back of the study.
Another version of this composition exists in the Linder Collection, which is also housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Kep (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and pencil on paper, mounted on card, collage |
| Brief description | Pencil and watercolour drawing of a sheep dog, 'Kep', guarding sheep in a snow-covered field; by Beatrix Potter, 5 March 1909; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.178. |
| Physical description | A watercolour and pencil sketch of a sheep dog guarding sheep in a snow-covered field. In the lower left a purple flower motif is adhered to the paper - a legacy of when the drawing was kept in an album by Beatrix Potter's cousin, Stephanie Hyde Parker. A drawing attached to the verso, showing carrots and a turnip, is by Amy Hyde Parker. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | '"Kep" / March 5 1909 / Beatrix Potter.' (Inscribed by the artist, lower right: the inscription was inked over and enhanced by Stephanie Hyde-Parker, to whom the drawing was given. ) |
| Credit line | Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number] |
| Object history | Drawn by Beatrix Potter, 5 March 1909. Given by Beatrix Potter to Stephanie Hyde Parker; given to Stephanie's daughter Rosemary after her death. 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. Beatrix Potter purchased Hill Top in Near Sawrey, her first Lake District farm, in 1905. After this date she visited Hill Top regularly for holidays, eventually settling permanently in nearby Castle Cottage following her marriage in 1913. This study of ‘Kep’, one of Beatrix Potter’s sheepdogs, dates from a visit to Near Sawrey in March 1909, when Potter made a number of studies of the Lakeland landscape in snow. Potter gave this drawing to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of her cousin Ethel, who stuck it in an album: remnants of the album can be seen in the floral motif adhered to the lower left of the design, and in a drawing by Amy Hyde Parker attached to the back of the study. Another version of this composition exists in the Linder Collection, which is also housed at the Victoria and Albert Museum. |
| 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.25; no.178
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.25; no.178 |
| Other number | LB.178 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.297 |
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| Record created | April 21, 2017 |
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