Spring has hopped into New York City along with The Morgan Library & Museum’s delightful exhibition “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature.” Potter is the universally beloved writer and illustrator of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and other children’s books.
The School of Nature
Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) was born into an affluent British family. Their primary residence was in London, but they spent months at a time holidaying throughout Britain, including letting houses in Wales, Scotland, and Northern England. The young Potter loved the countryside and the opportunities it provided to explore and learn about nature. She disliked city life and its societal obligations, feeling awkward and shy. Both of her parents were artistically inclined, and her father was an amateur photographer who often documented the family.
While in London, Potter and her brother spent much of their time in the third-floor nursery. There, they kept a menagerie of pets that over the years included birds, dogs, hedgehogs, frogs, lizards, mice, salamanders, snakes, a bat, and of course, rabbits. Her pet bunny, named Peter Piper, was later the inspiration for the character Peter Rabbit.
Potter’s pencil drawing of a bridge scene and hares at play is an amusing sketch from the artist’s childhood included in the exhibition. While she received some formal artistic instruction in her youth, Potter was mostly self-taught. As she grew older, she used her considerable skill as a watercolorist to document animal and botanical specimens as well as experiments.
Illustrated Letters
With the aim of earning her own money, Potter’s first commercial and publishable ventures were the creation of Christmas and greeting cards in 1889 and 1890. Financial independence from her parents came unexpectedly with the phenomenal success of Peter Rabbit. The tale’s origin dates to one of her enchanting picture letters, of which The Morgan has a notable collection.
In 1893, she composed an illustrated letter to the 5-year-old son of her former governess: “I don’t know what to write to you, so I shall tell you a story about four little rabbits, whose names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter.” The boy’s mother encouraged Potter to turn the story into a book.
From the start, part of the appeal of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” was Potter’s thoughtfulness about her readers. She insisted that the work be published in a small format convenient for little hands, and be affordable. Successful sales led to demand for more of her stories.
Hill Top Farm
In 1905, Potter was able to purchase a home, Hill Top Farm, in her favorite region of Britain—the Lake District. She left London behind for good several years later. She had been introduced to North West England on her family holidays and had long loved the area. Elements of her new house and garden went on to feature in her work.
As she continued to experience success, Potter bought up vast tracts of land in her new community in order to preserve its ecology and farming culture. Particularly fond of a Lake District breed of sheep known as Herdwick, she became active in their preservation. Upon Potter’s death in 1943, she gifted the National Trust over 4,000 acres, 14 working farms, and a further 60 properties.
Potter’s Gardenscapes
An unexpected pleasure in the exhibit is the inclusion of several of Potter’s exquisite watercolors of natural landscapes and blooming gardens. Depicting different areas in the British countryside, their mastery of line and color confirms Potter’s great artistry. In the book “Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children’s Tales,” author Marta McDowell observes, “As well as characters, Beatrix Potter drew garden settings for Peter Rabbit from various holiday homes.”
In preparing her book, McDowell poured over Potter’s published book illustrations. She was thrilled to be able to identify flora and other garden elements and match them to locations where Potter had lived or visited.
The family-friendly “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” exhibit sheds new insights on the bestselling author and on the wonderful fine art she produced. Potter’s books of anthropomorphic characters remain enchantingly imaginative and her branding of them innovative. Notably, her passion for and protection of the natural world shines through in the displays. Potter was a woman ahead of her time. She gets her due in this exhibition as a timeless inspiration.
