Green panelling and paintings inside the exhibition Photo Credit: Lauren Burns
Opened in February 2022, Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature spotlights the children’s author, covering her drawings, beloved characters, and conservation efforts in meticulous detail. A National Trust collaboration, the V&A’s latest major exhibition holds environmentalism at its core.
In emerald surroundings, mimicking a Victorian townhouse, guests walk through the author’s life, from her childhood to her career and conservation work. Fittingly located in Kensington (where Potter grew up), educational and well-laid-out, the Porter Gallery is decorated with art and information.
Although facts probably could have been Googled, as someone who has visited similar displays, I was surprised by new information. Like the morbid side of the writer, who disturbingly boiled her deceased pets to study them, and, alongside her brother, had an unusual interest in taxidermy.
Facts thread throughout. It’s interesting, but early parts overload the reader with information. It would take a while to read every word. However, if you do, you’ll leave the gallery with a greater understanding of the author and the landscapes she dedicated her life to.
Beatrix Potter's original paintings on display at the V&A Photo Credit: Lauren Burns
It is suitable for all ages but, oddly, despite circling around a classic children’s author, it’s not necessarily the best day out for children. Something was lacking. Aside from mice scuttling about behind windows, a rail of dressing-up clothes and a few microscopes in the science section, the exhibition offered little interactivity.
These parts are few and feel disjointed from the exhibition as a whole. Overall, the attention spans of children and adults may be at odds, and fairy-tale elements could have been amplified for young guests.
While walls are adorned with the artist’s trademark pink and blue watercolours, the display is about far more than rabbits in waistcoats.
Although we follow the development of Potter’s drawing skills, the exhibition provides a multi-dimensional picture of the person behind Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter was a farmer, scientist, and environmentalist. Roles the exhibition emphasises.
Projections of sheep at the end of the experience Photo Credit: Lauren Burns
The tale ends in a large room where sheep and sprawling countryside are projected onto the walls. There, it becomes unavoidably clear the
exhibition is really about the environment and looking after it, as much as it’s about Beatrix Potter books.
Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature is available to visit until January 8th 2023.
Tickets are free for children and £14 for adults (£9 for those under 26).
by Lauren Burns
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