Acclaimed Yorkshire artist's wildlife paintings set for exhibition

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A collection of Yorkshire artist Pollyanna Pickering’s paintings inspired by the work of the wildlife Born Free Foundation is set to be displayed in an exhibition in her private gallery later this month.

The artist won praise from Dame Virginia McKenna, the renowned actress and conservationist, who founded the Born Free Foundation which this year marks its 40th anniversary.

Said Dame Virginia: "One of my most delightful experiences is to visit Pollyanna Pickering’s Gallery in the Peak District. To stand there, surrounded by her luminous and beautiful paintings of animals, is breath-taking."

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Throughout her career Yorkshire artist Pollyanna was always most pleased when her art could be used to help raise funds for causes close to her heart – her work has been commissioned and published by every major wildlife charity.

Pollyanna visits a Born Free project in AfricaPollyanna visits a Born Free project in Africa
Pollyanna visits a Born Free project in Africa

However undoubtedly the closest and most enduring relationship she had with any outside organisation was with The Born Free Foundation.

In 1987, just three years after the formation of Born Free, Pollyanna was invited to travel to India to sketch and paint five tigers which had been rescued from appalling conditions in a roadside circus in Kent. She would go on to visit Born Free projects in South Africa and Ethiopia, and stage fund-raising exhibitions of the artwork inspired by her visits.

She became a close friend of their founder Dame Virginia McKenna, bonding through their shared love of animals and passion for conservation. She created limited edition prints and Christmas cards for the charity, and donated original work to their fund raising auctions. She even went on to paint a life sized lion Sculpture – which will also be on display at the exhibition in Matlock.

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Pollyanna went on to become a much-loved patron of the Foundation. Following her unexpected passing in 2018 the charity named a rescued cheetah cub in her memory – the most perfect tribute for an artist who had reached the pinnacle of success in her chosen field while achieving international respect for her commitment to environmental conservation.

Freedom by Pollyanna PickeringFreedom by Pollyanna Pickering
Freedom by Pollyanna Pickering

Pollyanna had already started work on a collection of paintings with the idea of staging an exhibition to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the charity in 2019. Sadly of course this event did not go ahead as planned.

Her daughter Anna-Louise, president of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation has since kept this collection of artwork in storage and it will now be shown exclusively for the first time in the forthcoming event.

Pollyanna also returned to Joy Adamson’s original book for inspiration for new portraits of Elsa - several of which include text from Born Free within the artwork. A very generous bequest from a collector of Pollyanna’s work has provided further paintings which have not been on public display for many years. One of these paintings – Elsa’s Pride - has also been chosen as one of three limited edition prints to launched exclusively at the event, co-signed by Dame Virginia McKenna.

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Also on display throughout will be Pollyanna's extensive ranges of greetings cards, fine art and limited edition prints, and a wide variety of gift ware featuring her work - including stationery, china mugs, cross stitch kits, signed sets of herpostage stamps issued in Africa, and first day covers for the Royal Mail. Paper crafting kits will also be available - as launched live on television!

A sneak preview of next year’s charity Christmas cards and fine art calendars for 2025 will also be available.

The free event is set to take place at Brookvale House, Oaker, Derbyshire from 22nd – 30th June.

A minimum of 10 per cent of all sales throughout the exhibition will be donated to worldwide conservation projects through the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation. Visitors to the gallery will have the opportunity to purchase prize draw tickets to win a unique hand-retouched giclee print. Tea and Coffee will be available throughout.

Find full details and directions to the gallery at www.pollyannapickering.co.uk

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