The Artistic and Written Musings of a Naturalist’
On Saturday 2nd February, The Gallery at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre will be offering a unique and exciting opportunity to view a selection of both artistic works and written musings of WWT founder, Sir Peter Scott. WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre is very grateful to the Scott family for their lone of these examples of Peter Scott's early artistic life.
Peter Scott was the only child of Robert Falcon Scott – “Scott of the Antarctic” – and Kathleen Scott. On his father’s final ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, he wrote a last letter to Kathleen saying: “Make the boy interested in natural history if you can. It is better than games...”.
Bringing together people and wildlife, for the benefit of both was Sir Peter Scott’s vision when he founded the Severn Wildfowl Trust (later Wildfowl and Wetland Trust - WWT) in 1946. He was also a founder and the first chairman of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in 1961. Julie Mackie, patron of Castle Espie Art Gallery, highlighted, “No matter what age he was, (the earliest examples here were drawn and 'coloured in' when he was just 9 years old) Peter Scott never stopped drawing, painting and frequently doodling on agenda papers. It is our good fortune that so much was preserved”.
Julie went on to say, “The exhibition reminds us of this remarkable man whose many talents inspired generations of conservationists. David Attenborough, at Peter Scott's Memorial Service at St. Paul's in 1990, referred to him as the Patron Saint of Conservation. This tribute is evident at all the WWT Centres and Castle Espie is proud to be part of this distinguished legacy.”
The exhibition of prints includes sketches, drawings, paintings, letters and childhood diary extracts, covering Sir Peter Scott’s passion for the natural world and his wartime experiences.
Also included is a print of the original artwork for the now world famous WWF logo.
The exhibition will run from Saturday 2nd February to Sunday 10th March and the doors are open from 10am to 4.30pm
