Surrey

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2113" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1.jpeg" alt="The Lavender Fairy, party of the Flower Fairies series by Cicely Mary Barker." class="wp-image-56684" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1.jpeg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-568x800.jpeg 568w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-710x1000.jpeg 710w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-284x400.jpeg 284w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-768x1082.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-1090x1536.jpeg 1090w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/The-Lavender-Fairy-©-The-Estate-of-Cicely-Mary-Barker-1944-1-1454x2048.jpeg 1454w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Flower Fairies: The Lavender Fairy. © The Estate of Cicely Mary Barker, 1944</figcaption></figure>



Cicely Mary Barker was the illustrator who created the famous Flower Fairies, first published in 1923. We all remember those dainty little children with delicate wings and adorable smiling faces. 



Now a brand new exhibition at Watts Gallery in Compton is taking visitors on a journey into the magical world of the <a href="https://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/flower-fairies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flower Fairies and their creator Cicely Mary Barker</a>. It&#8217;s a wonderfully whimsical display that includes original illustrations of the Flower Fairies as well as sketches and family photographs.



It&#8217;s the first time Watts Gallery has curated an exhibition that&#8217;s aimed squarely at children and families. And if this one is anything to go by, it won&#8217;t be the last. 



The exhibition has been beautifully put together with interactive activities to keep children interested throughout the journey. The gallery labels are written for children. And they&#8217;re engaging and informative, offering snippets of information about the fairies and their creator, without being patronising at all.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-play-and-create">Play and create</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18.jpg" alt="A child draws at the Flower Fairies exhibition at Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey." class="wp-image-56686" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-18-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Libby Whyte</figcaption></figure>



It&#8217;s not a exhibition you&#8217;ll whizz around &#8211; there are drawing stations for children to colour and create. And children can dress up and become part of the story in a giant-sized set that mimics the pages of one of Cicely&#8217;s books. There&#8217;s also a doll-sized replica of Cicely&#8217;s childhood family home. 



It&#8217;s easy to see how children will be charmed by the exhibition. Outside in the grounds of Watts Gallery, there&#8217;s a tree fairy trail through the woodlands &#8211; designed so children can discover some of the trees and plants that feature in the Flower Fairies.



But this exhibition is multi-layered. And while children will certainly love it, there&#8217;s plenty to draw in the adults as well (pardon the pun). More in-depth information about the life and work of Cicely is available in folders dotted around the exhibition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-life-of-cicely">The life of Cicely</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03.jpg" alt="Flower Fairies preview at Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey." class="wp-image-56685" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-preview.-Photo-by-Libby-Whyte.-03-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Libby Whyte</figcaption></figure>



The exhibition starts with an exploration of Cicely&#8217;s younger years. She was born in 1895, and with her older sister Dorothy grew up in Croydon. Cicely was a delicate child, frequently poorly and also quite often confined to her bed. 



To pass the time she read books and started to draw. It opened up a whole new world for the young artist. The exhibition includes some of Cicely&#8217;s earliest pictures including watercolour illustrations of a fairy chasing butterflies and cherubs circling the sun. It&#8217;s extraordinary to discover that both were created before Cicely was 10 years old.



Cicely&#8217;s father was himself an artist, and when his daughter was 13 he enrolled her at the Croydon School of Art, as well as a correspondence course in art, where she developed and honed her talents. 



Her first piece of work &#8211; four animal illustrations &#8211; were sold in 1911 when Cicely was just 16. A year later, her father died &#8211; and she became more determined to succeed commercially so she could help to support her family.



It&#8217;s a fabulous story of a talented and determined young female artist who achieved great success in the Victorian era &#8211; and beyond. And it&#8217;s wonderfully depicted in this exhibition. Cicely went on to produce postcards and then books, which gave her international success.



Cicely&#8217;s drawings of Flower Fairies were botanically accurate, beautifully detailed and vivid. She used real-life models for the fairies &#8211; mostly children who lived nearby or who attended a kindergarten run by her sister.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-story-continues">The story continues</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10.jpg" alt="A woman looks closely at the Flower Fairies exhibition of Cicely Mary Barker at Watts Gallery in Compton, Surrey." class="wp-image-56687" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10-400x267.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2024/10/Flower-Fairies-press-preview-10-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



Whilst Cicely was most famous for her Flower Fairies, the exhibition also explores her other works including The Lord of the Rushie River which she wrote and illustrated, and its sequel Simon the Swan, which was published in 1988, after her death. The first of these stories was inspired by a dream Cicely had when she was a child. 



The fun continues for children here too with interactive fishing games and the hull of a rowing boat to climb into. There&#8217;s also cosy reading den &#8211; designed to look like swan&#8217;s nest &#8211; where children can sit and read Cicely&#8217;s books. 



Cicely&#8217;s Flower Fairies collection includes 170 illustrations. Her books have been translated into 20 languages. More than 7 million copies have been sold in the last 10 years alone.



<a href="https://www.wattsgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/flower-fairies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Flower Fairies: The Magical World of Cicely Mary Barker</a> is at Watts Gallery until 27 April 2025. A programme of events and activities will run alongside the exhibition during the school holidays &#8211; including Flower Fairies Family Days.

Review: ‘Flower Fairies’ exhibition at Watts Gallery

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