Whimsical world of the Flower Fairies

Image: © The Estate of Cicely Mary Baker, 1927

Karen Neville

Activities & Events, Round and About, Surrey

Step into the magical world of Cicely Mary Barker’s world-famous Flower Fairies in the first exhibition for children and families at the Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village

A display of original Flower Fairies illustrations is at the heart of an enchanting exhibition starting on October 22nd.

The exhibition, presented in association with Penguin Random House Children’s UK, Flower Fairies™, shows Cicely Mary Baker’s original sketches and family photographs which reveal her process in creating the fairy figures that are known and loved around the world. To experience how it might feel to be a character in one of Cicley’s famous books, in this section of the exhibition there’s a chance for children to become part of the story by dressing up and entering giant-sized pages of a Flower Fairies book.

The exhibition opens with an exploration of Barker’s early years. Born in 1895, Cicely and her older sister, Dorothy, grew up in Croydon. Cicely was a poorly and delicate child and spent most of her time at home, quite often in bed where to pass the time, she read books and drew. Many of her pictures featured fairies, capturing her imagination as a young child.

Also included is photography of family life – messing about at the beach, cuddling their dogs and relaxing together in the garden. Children visiting the exhibition can have fun peering through the windows of a doll-sized replica of Cicely’s childhood house and discovering her childhood activities, which included dressing up her pets and drawing self-portraits.

Image: © The Estate of Cicely Mary Baker, 1944

Cicely’s father, Walter Barker, was an accomplished artist and recognised his daughter’s talent. When she was 13, he enrolled her at the Croydon School of Art and also paid for a correspondence course in art, which she continued until the age of 24. He sadly died when Cicely was just 17 and her success as a commercial artist became more urgent to assist with the family finances, she created sets of postcards to do this.

After the First World War there was renewed interest in fairies and using her love of writing poetry, drawing children and nature, the Flower Fairies came to life. In 1923 she sold the first of these works to Blackie and Son and the book was published in the same year. It was an instant international success.

The exhibition will give visitors a chance to discover some of the other works she wrote and illustrated and inspired by Cicely’s botanical illustrations and traditional folklore, families can follow a Tree Fairy Trail through the woodland at Watts Gallery to find some of the trees and plants that feature in the Flower Fairies with opportunities to play and learn along the way.

A programme of related events accompanies the exhibition, including Flower Fairies Family Days during the school holidays. For further information: Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village | Watts Gallery and Artists’ Village

Step into the magical world of Cicely Mary Barker’s world-famous Flower Fairies in the first exhibition for children and families at the Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village

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