A group of irises, one in flower
Watercolour
ca. 1896-1902 (drawn)
ca. 1896-1902 (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.
Beatrix Potter made many studies of flowers and plants and was keenly interested in natural history. This sheet sees her depict a group of irises, one of which is flowering. Her carefully observed plant and flower studies would have an impact on her book illustration; she later commented that the ‘careful botanical studies of my youth’ informed the reality of her imagined scenes.
The back of this drawing is inscribed in a different hand to Potter’s, and it is possible it was passed to members of a drawing society to which Beatrix Potter belonged in London: the members sometimes wrote comments on the back of the drawings. Potter wrote to her editor, Norman Warne, in 1902, that of the drawings she ‘sent to a small drawing society’, ‘those with a bit of landscape were the favourites’.
Beatrix Potter made many studies of flowers and plants and was keenly interested in natural history. This sheet sees her depict a group of irises, one of which is flowering. Her carefully observed plant and flower studies would have an impact on her book illustration; she later commented that the ‘careful botanical studies of my youth’ informed the reality of her imagined scenes.
The back of this drawing is inscribed in a different hand to Potter’s, and it is possible it was passed to members of a drawing society to which Beatrix Potter belonged in London: the members sometimes wrote comments on the back of the drawings. Potter wrote to her editor, Norman Warne, in 1902, that of the drawings she ‘sent to a small drawing society’, ‘those with a bit of landscape were the favourites’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A group of irises, one in flower |
| Materials and techniques | watercolour and pen and ink with pencil, on card |
| Brief description | Watercolour and pen and ink drawing of a group of irises, one in flower, by Beatrix Potter, ca. 1896-1902; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.223. |
| Physical description | Study of a group of irises, with one in flower and four buds, as well as plentiful leaves. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| 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. 1896-1902. 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 made many studies of flowers and plants and was keenly interested in natural history. This sheet sees her depict a group of irises, one of which is flowering. Her carefully observed plant and flower studies would have an impact on her book illustration; she later commented that the ‘careful botanical studies of my youth’ informed the reality of her imagined scenes. The back of this drawing is inscribed in a different hand to Potter’s, and it is possible it was passed to members of a drawing society to which Beatrix Potter belonged in London: the members sometimes wrote comments on the back of the drawings. Potter wrote to her editor, Norman Warne, in 1902, that of the drawings she ‘sent to a small drawing society’, ‘those with a bit of landscape were the favourites’. |
| 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. 29; no. 223
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. 29; no. 223 |
| Other number | LB.223 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.912(IX) |
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| Record created | August 4, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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