THE EXHIBITION
JOIN US AT THE NATIONAL TRUST'S WILLIAM HEELIS BUILDING (FORMALLY THE BEATRIX POTTER GALLERY)
IN HAWKSHEAD
FOR THIS STUNNING 6 WEEK EXHIBITION
DEPICTING THE WILDER SIDE OF THE ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT
This unique exhibition draws on the legacy of Beatrix Potter as an extraordinary female artist and conservationist. For six weeks, a select group of professional local artists, who live and work in rural Cumbria, showcase artwork that celebrates the elemental rawness, delicacy and beauty of the Lakes.
The Exhibition takes you through the main rooms of a beautiful old National Trust building in the centre of Hawkshead. Through words, paintings, textiles and ceramics, you will be led into a deeper, more sensitive and perceptive relationship with the wild spaces - and wild creatures - of the Lakeland Landscape.
Here you will find:
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Warm, beautiful rugs, woven from local herdwick wool, suffused with the subtle greens, browns, blues and greys of slate and lichen, bracken and water
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Rich oil paintings taking you to mountain summits, and river valleys, evoking the movement and energy of our changing lakeland weather
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In the hedgerows, waterways, skyways and fields, exquisite birds and wild creatures are brought to life through shimmering watercolour paintings
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And art projects from local primary and secondary schools
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'I do not remember a time when I did not try to invent pictures and make for myself a fairyland amongst the wild flowers, the animals, fungi, mosses, woods and streams, all the thousand objects of the countryside; that pleasant, unchanging world of realism and romance, which in our northern clime is stiffened by hard weather, a tough ancestry, and the strength that comes from the hills'
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Beatrix Potter, Letter to Bertha Mahoney Miller for The Horn Book, 25 November 1940
THE VENUE
The Beatrix Potter Gallery space was once the legal office of Beatrix Potter's husband, William Heelis. Until recently, this beautiful 17th century building housed a collection of the artist's original drawings and writings. Due to moisture problems (common in older buildings) which would have impacted the collection long term, the exhibition had to be moved.
The gallery space is now being re-assigned as a space for present-day artists - something of which Beatrix Potter would surely have approved.
The inaugural Wilder Lakes Exhibition is the first in a series of projects to bring the building to life once more.
BEATRIX POTTER GALLERY
HOW TO FIND US
In the heart of the Lake District, at the centre of the quaint lakeland village of Hawkshead, the exhibition is easy to find. See the directions below.
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ACCESS: Due to the historic nature of the building, access to the building is via a narrow entrance and steps. Please contact us if you need support or have any questions prior to your visit.
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FROM AMBLESIDE:
Take the A593 to Coniston. At Clappersgate, turn left onto the B5286 and continue all the way to Hawkshead.
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FROM CONISTON:
From the centre of Coniston, take the B5285 over Hawkshead Hill. Stay on this road, and drop down the other side. Turn right onto the B5286 to Hawkshead.
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ADDRESS FOR SAT NAV:
Beatrix Potter Gallery, Main Street, Hawkshead, Cumbria, England, LA22 0NS
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PARKING:
There is a large carpark on the outskirts of Hawkshead. Follow the B5286 round the village and the carpark is on your right. On weekends, there is also parking available at the local primary school.
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FIND THE EXHIBITION:
We are located in the yellow building just across the street from the Co-op store.