Artwork
The fox looks up at the stork standing on top of a tower
The fox looks up at the stork standing on top of a tower is a watercolor work on paper by Beatrix Potter. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This watercolour is called The fox looks up at the stork standing on top of a tower. It was created by Beatrix Potter in 1919.
Beatrix Potter was a children's author and illustrator. She wrote and illustrated many books, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit, between 1901 and 1913.
You can learn more about Beatrix Potter at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Overview
The fox looks up at the stork standing on top of a tower is a 1919 watercolour by Beatrix Potter, created during her later exploration of Aesop's fables.
Subject & Meaning
This illustration depicts a scene from 'The Fox and the Stork', an Aesop's fable. The composition shows a fox gazing up at a stork perched atop a tower, likely capturing a moment of interaction or contemplation between the two animals, characteristic of Potter's anthropomorphic yet anatomically accurate animal renderings.
Technique & Style
Executed in watercolour, the piece reflects Potter's signature attention to naturalistic detail in animal behaviour and anatomy, blended with a whimsical narrative touch.
History & Provenance
Created in 1919, this work was part of Potter's unrealized project to amalgamate Aesop's fables into a new book. Despite initial investment in the concept (including starting illustrations), her publishers, Frederick Warne & Co., rejected the idea, citing its closeness to the original fables.
Artist & collection
Artist
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.
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The fox taking leave of the stork
The fox following the stork up a staircase
The fox pouring tea
The fox looking over the stream at the stork
Rear view of the White Rabbit running away along the corridor
The fox and the stork eating a meal
A view, through trees, of a lake and mountains
Study for the frontispiece of Kitty-in-Boots
The Fox and the Crow
Study of a view through trees to the roof of a house and a rough sketch of a horse