Views of an ant (highly magnified) thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Views of an ant (highly magnified)

Watercolour
March 1886 (drawn)
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.

From early childhood Beatrix Potter spent time drawing the many pets that she kept in her schoolroom: over the years, her pets included lizards, snails, bats, mice, rabbits and many other animals. During the family’s long summer holidays to rural areas she also took the opportunity to draw the plants and animals she saw in the countryside. Even her earliest childhood drawings show a serious interest in natural history, her sketches annotated with information about the species concerned.

These highly magnified studies of an ant exemplify Potter’s quasi-scientific approach.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleViews of an ant (highly magnified)
Materials and techniques
watercolour and pen and ink over pencil on card
Brief description
An ant viewed from above and below (highly magnified); drawing by Beatrix Potter, March 1886; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.331
Physical description
Yellow wash and pen and ink drawings of a highly magnified ant, viewed from both above and below.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 180mm
  • Sheet width: 270mm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
'March 86' (Inscribed in pencil by the artist, verso.)
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Drawn by Beatrix Potter in March 1886. 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.

From early childhood Beatrix Potter spent time drawing the many pets that she kept in her schoolroom: over the years, her pets included lizards, snails, bats, mice, rabbits and many other animals. During the family’s long summer holidays to rural areas she also took the opportunity to draw the plants and animals she saw in the countryside. Even her earliest childhood drawings show a serious interest in natural history, her sketches annotated with information about the species concerned.

These highly magnified studies of an ant exemplify Potter’s quasi-scientific approach.
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. 36; no. 331 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. 36; no. 331.
Other number
LB.331 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.402

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Record createdMay 3, 2017
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