1887
watercolor
From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum
Studies of Small Tortoiseshell and Painted Lady butterflies, with magnified studies of the wings is a 1887 watercolor by Beatrix Potter, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.
Beatrix Potter painted delicate watercolours of Small Tortoiseshell and Painted Lady butterflies around 1887. She used a magnifying glass to study their wings up close. This shows her love for nature before she wrote children’s books. She studied real insects from dead specimens in her cabinet. Her careful drawings helped her create accurate pictures later. The butterflies look alive on the page. Look up the Victoria and Albert Museum to see this work.
Beatrix Potter created detailed studies of Small Tortoiseshell and Painted Lady butterflies in 1887, including magnified views of their wing scales. The sheet features a Painted Lady above, with a close-up of its wing scales to the right, and a Small Tortoiseshell below, paired with a similar magnified study on the left. These works reflect Potter’s careful observation of natural specimens, part of her broader engagement with natural history. The drawings were later acquired by the V&A in 1973 as part of the Linder Bequest.
Read the full account in the museum source.
Helen Beatrix Heelis (née Potter; 28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( BEE-ə-triks), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist.
See the richer artist pageYour cart is empty
Explore artworks →
