When: Wed 8th Aug 2018 to
Sun 30th Sep 2018
Where: The Garden Museum, Lambeth Palace Road, London
SE1 7LB
Nearest Station: Lambeth North
Map: Map & Nearby
Times: Sun – Fri: 10:30 – 17:00 Sat: 10:30 - 16:00
Admission: Adult: £10,
Senior citizen:
£8.50,
Concs: £5
About the event
Since they first
crept out from behind leaves and flowers in 1918 for the Elves and Fairies
postcards, Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies™ have been enchanting and
delighting children and adults alike. A selection of these charming characters
will be on display at the Garden Museum this summer in an exhibition which
celebrates the centenary of the earliest publication of Cicely Mary Barker’s
first fairy illustrations.
Continuing to be
inspired by fairies Cicely Mary Barker published the first of her Flower
Fairies books in 1923. Visitors will see original illustrations for more than
40 of her Flower Fairies designs, drawing extensively from the Frederick Warne
archive which is an imprint of Penguin Random House UK. There will also be
previously unseen sketchbooks and drawings together with her research
materials.
The exhibition
demonstrates Cicely’s precision and skill as an artist; the fairies themselves
were developed from careful observation of children in her sister’s nursery.
The depictions of plants are always botanically accurate, which has contributed
to the lasting appeal of the designs. It’s the combination of this accuracy
with her imagination which makes her illustrations so unique.
Fairies were
experiencing great popularity at the time Cicely first published her works.
Most notably, the mystery surrounding the Cottingley fairy photographs which
Arthur Conan Doyle published in a sell-out article for The Strand, whilst JM
Barrie captured the imagination of a generation in his enduring tale Peter Pan.
Younger visitors to
the exhibition will have the opportunity to dress up as some of their favourite
fairies from Barker’s Illustrations and send pictures to family and friends.
Some key pieces in
the exhibition include a rare set of 1918 Elves and Fairies postcards and the
original artwork for these, as well as the preparatory sketches for the White
Bindweed Fairy, Alder Fairy and Jack-go-to-Bed at noon. There will be artwork
from all eight of the original Flower Fairies books, including Flower Fairies
of the Winter, which was published posthumously. Favourites include the Fuchsia
Fairy, the Strawberry Fairy, the Rose Fairy and the Horse Chestnut Fairy.
The exhibition will
be held alongside a number of family-friendly events, including cookery
workshops which explore the use of edible flowers in food and garden workshops
which will allow children to make fairy gardens
Official Link:
https://gardenmuseum.org.uk/
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