Studies of a rabbit's head (Benjamin Bouncer) thumbnail 1
Studies of a rabbit's head (Benjamin Bouncer) thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On short term loan out for exhibition

Studies of a rabbit's head (Benjamin Bouncer)

Drawing
August 1890 (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.

As a young woman Beatrix Potter studied natural history with some seriousness, exploring the collections of the Natural History Museum, including the insect cases and fungi specimens. She had a collector’s cabinet full of specimens at home, from shells to dead butterflies and moths, and used a magnifying glass and a microscope to examine them more closely. She made numerous carefully observed studies of animals and plants from life.

This sheet of studies, dated August 1890, shows Beatrix Potter’s pet rabbit Benjamin Bouncer, ‘a noisy, cheerful determined animal, inclined to attack strangers’. Benjamin was a favourite model, and Potter drew him from various different angles. In the same year as this sheet of studies was made, he became a model for the rabbit characters seen in Potter’s first published works: greetings card designs featuring imaginary scenes, published by the firm Hildesheimer & Faulkner.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleStudies of a rabbit's head (Benjamin Bouncer)
Materials and techniques
pencil on paper
Brief description
Drawing; pencil studies of a rabbit's head (Benjamin Bouncer), by Beatrix Potter, August 1890; Linder Bequest cat. no. LB 352.
Physical description
Six pencil studies of a rabbit's head, shown from different angles.
Dimensions
  • Sheet height: 255mm
  • Sheet width: 160mm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
'H.B.P. Aug. 90' (Inscribed in pencil by the artist, lower left. )
Credit line
Linder Bequest [plus object number; written on labels on the same line as the object number]
Object history
Drawn by Beatrix Potter, August 1890. 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.

As a young woman Beatrix Potter studied natural history with some seriousness, exploring the collections of the Natural History Museum, including the insect cases and fungi specimens. She had a collector’s cabinet full of specimens at home, from shells to dead butterflies and moths, and used a magnifying glass and a microscope to examine them more closely. She made numerous carefully observed studies of animals and plants from life.

This sheet of studies, dated August 1890, shows Beatrix Potter’s pet rabbit Benjamin Bouncer, ‘a noisy, cheerful determined animal, inclined to attack strangers’. Benjamin was a favourite model, and Potter drew him from various different angles. In the same year as this sheet of studies was made, he became a model for the rabbit characters seen in Potter’s first published works: greetings card designs featuring imaginary scenes, published by the firm Hildesheimer & Faulkner.
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.38; no.352 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.38; no.352
Other number
LB.352 - Linder Bequest catalogue no.
Collection
Library number
BP.261

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Record createdJanuary 6, 2017
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