Beatrix Potter

ink & watercolor on paper
6 x 6 inches
(152 x 152 mm)
Executed circa 1890s.

Frame and glazed, not examined out of frame.
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A wonderful original watercolor from the collection of the artist’s younger brother Bertram Potter. It is one of six designs from the so-called “The Rabbit’s Christmas Party” series (each one known by multiple examples). Our design also exists as a more finished picture with eight dancing bunnies (given to Henry P Coolidge of Boston in 1927, now in a private collection) and in a version with a cellist and five dancing rabbits.

Bertram (1872-1918) was Beatrix’s only sibling, and virtually her sole companion when she was growing up (until he was sent off to boarding school). A would-be (but failed) artist himself, he also preceded his sister into the farming business. Significantly, she credited him for initially encouraging her to approach the publishers Hildesheimer & Faulkner, where her career began.