Where can I see Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right)?

Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right) is held by Victoria and Albert Museum.

What movement is Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right)?

Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right) is associated with Romanticism.

Artwork

Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right)

Snow scene with two cows (left) and sketches of chickens (right) is a watercolor work on paper by the Romanticist artist Beatrix Potter. It dates from 1805 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

About this work

Beatrix Potter painted this watercolour of a snowy hillside with two cows on the left and quick chicken sketches on the right.

Beatrix Potter painted this watercolour of a snowy hillside with two cows on the left and quick chicken sketches on the right. It’s a loose, wintry scene full of broad brushstrokes over faint pencil lines.

Potter often drew Hill Top Farm in the Lake District after she bought it in 1905. This sheet may date from her snowy studies in 1909–1913, focusing on snow-covered fields and bare trees.

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Overview

This watercolour by Beatrix Potter combines two distinct elements on a single sheet: a loose, wintry landscape with two cows on the left, and eight quick sketches of chickens on the right.

Subject & Meaning

The landscape likely depicts Hill Top Farm in the Lake District, a property Potter owned from 1905, and frequently sketched in various seasons. The scene captures a serene snow-covered hillside with bare trees and two cows descending the hill.

Technique & Style

Broad watercolour brushstrokes are applied over faint, sketchy pencil lines, characteristic of Potter's loose and expressive approach to capturing wintry landscapes.

History & Provenance

Undated, but based on similar snowy studies from Sawrey (1909, 1910, 1913), this work is tentatively dated to around the same period.

Artist & collection

Artist

Beatrix Potter

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.