Watercolour
02/09-1897-03/09/1897 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Beatrix Potter began drawing fungi from around 1885 but knew little of the science behind them. She began exchanging letters with Charles McIntosh (1839–1922), a postman from Inver in Perthshire, who was also an expert on ferns, mosses and fungi. Potter knew him from her holidays in Perthshire as a young girl. When staying in Dunkeld in 1892 (aged 26), she arranged a proper meeting with him to show him her drawings. Although naturally shy, he became lively on the subject of fungi, talking with ‘poetical feeling about their exquisite colours.’ They began exchanging letters. McIntosh sent her samples of mushrooms he had found and, in exchange, she sent him copies of her drawings of them. At first she referred to the specimens by appearance (‘spluttered candle’) or smell (‘exactly like a dead sheep’) but soon developed knowledge of the subject. McIntosh advised her to show present her drawings more scientifically instead of drawing them as she found them in the gound. As her knowledge grew, Beatrix exchanged theories with McIntosh on mushroom reproduction. By around the time of this drawing, Beatrix had become interested in on particular branch of mushroom, Agarics, and began experimenting in their germination to write an essay on the subject.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and white heightening over pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Examples of Yellow Grisette (Amanita crocea) and examples of Scarlet Fly Cap (Amanita muscaria), watercolour over pencil, by Beatrix Potter, Ullock, 1897, Linder Bequest cat. no. LB.292 |
| Physical description | Drawing in watercolour over pencil of two types of fungi. Two examples of a Yellow Grisette (Amanita crocea) are shown on the left, a tall thin specimen on the far side with a shorter stumpier specimen beside. Both have smooth yellow/orange caps, peeling stems and gills visible on the underside of the specimen on the far left. On the right are specimens of the Scarlet Fly Cap (Amanita muscaria). The caps are red with evidence of white spores on them. The left hand sample is mid size with a rounded cap. The middle specimen has a more level, wide cap with gills visible on the underside. There is a small indication of foliage and then a cross section of the same fungus on the right. |
| Dimensions |
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| Content description | mycology |
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| 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 Ullock, 2-3 September 1897. 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 began drawing fungi from around 1885 but knew little of the science behind them. She began exchanging letters with Charles McIntosh (1839–1922), a postman from Inver in Perthshire, who was also an expert on ferns, mosses and fungi. Potter knew him from her holidays in Perthshire as a young girl. When staying in Dunkeld in 1892 (aged 26), she arranged a proper meeting with him to show him her drawings. Although naturally shy, he became lively on the subject of fungi, talking with ‘poetical feeling about their exquisite colours.’ They began exchanging letters. McIntosh sent her samples of mushrooms he had found and, in exchange, she sent him copies of her drawings of them. At first she referred to the specimens by appearance (‘spluttered candle’) or smell (‘exactly like a dead sheep’) but soon developed knowledge of the subject. McIntosh advised her to show present her drawings more scientifically instead of drawing them as she found them in the gound. As her knowledge grew, Beatrix exchanged theories with McIntosh on mushroom reproduction. By around the time of this drawing, Beatrix had become interested in on particular branch of mushroom, Agarics, and began experimenting in their germination to write an essay on the subject. |
| 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.33, cat. no. 292, and facing p.40, Plate XII |
| Other number | LB.292 - Linder Bequest catalogue no. |
| Collection | |
| Library number | BP.244 |
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| Record created | January 21, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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