“So he sat down on the stone in the middle of the stream.”
– A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends were pretty much my all-time favorite books as a child along with anything about a certain black horse, and a pony from Chincoteague.
The simply subtle genius of A.A. Milne, the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, resonates still and the life lessons he so eloquently illustrates can continue to serve us in our own adult lives. The brilliant artwork of E.H. Shepard brought Christopher Robin, Winnie-the-Pooh and all the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood to vivid life, creating characters for the ages.
An Inspirational Visit
I recently visited the exhibit “Winnie-the-Pooh, Exploring a Classic” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. The exhibit was the largest collection ever exhibited of original Winnie-the-Pooh drawings and rare manuscripts. It was drawn from the archives of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Walt Disney Company, Egmont Publishing, The Shepard Trust and the University of Surrey.
To say I was enchanted is quite the understatement. As I am just at the beginning of my year of daily drawing practice, Solstice-to-Solstice, the sheer amount and brilliance of the drawings was an incredible experience. So I though I would revisit the exhibit for you and let the drawings speak for themselves. I hope you enjoy this little trip through the Hundred Acre Woods through the words of Alan Alexander Milne and the illustrations of Ernest Howard Shepard.
“The bees are getting suspicious.”
– (Winnie-the-Pooh), A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
The. Best. Bear. Ever.
“Pooh, promise you won’t forget about me, ever. Not even when I’m a hundred.”
– (Christopher Robin), A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
Christopher Robin, A Bear’s Best Friend.
“It’s so much more friendly with two.”
– (Piglet), A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
The rest of the Hundred Acre Wood residents
“I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen.”
– A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
The landscapes of the Hundred Acre Wood
Note: all photographs are my own taken at the recent exhibit “Winnie-the-Pooh, Exploring a Classic” at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. Most of the sketches are courtesy of the V&A in London, England gifted by the artist himself, E.H. Shepard. Some were also from private collections.