✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
Visual Arts

Review: Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A ★★★★★

09 Dec 17 – 08 Apr 18, 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM

Britain's beloved bear joins Pink Floyd and Balenciaga in V&A exhibition history with Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic

By Hailey Wendling on 11/12/2017

7 CW readers are interested
Line block print, hand coloured by E.H. Shepard, 1970 (c) Egmont, reproduced with permission from the Shepard Trust
Line block print, hand coloured by E.H. Shepard, 1970 (c) Egmont, reproduced with permission from the Shepard Trust
Review: Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A 4 Review: Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A Hailey Wendling
Hide your honey and keep an eye out for Heffalumps – the 100 Acre Wood has arrived in the V&A. Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic is the Museum’s first exhibition designed for younger families, aiming to introduce a new generation to Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore.


A.A. Milne chronicled the adventures his son, Christopher Robin, went on with his lively toys. E.H. Shepard signed on to illustrate Milne’s first book of Pooh poems, When We Were Very Young, and together, the pair crafted a classic.


The exhibition unfolds like a pop-up book, with secret slides and unexpected, child-sized doors appearing alongside the display cases. Each room is a stunning interpretation of Shepard’s illustrations, complete with storytelling trees and a picnic drawing table.



Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A


The gallery space, designed by RFK architects and Tom Piper (the artist behind the field of poppies at the Tower of London), is sure to entrance everyone from age two to 102.


In the first part of the exhibition, the legacy of Winnie the Pooh on popular culture is explored through objects exhibited in a glass vitrine. We see stuffed toys depicting Pooh in all shapes and sizes. A Christopher Robin tea set previously owned by Princess Elizabeth is on display. Books like The Tao of Pooh and Pooh’s Workout Book showcase the extensive career of a bear who loves to just do nothing.


We journey through to ‘the Nursery’, a room designed to resemble that of Milne’s son. Pictures from Milne’s family photo album line the walls: one shows the real Christopher Robin with the real Winnie – a bear at the London zoo.


Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A
'Bump, bump, bump', Winnie-the-Pooh chapter 1, pencil drawing by E. H. Shephard, 1926. © The Shepard Trust, reproduced with permission from Curtis Brown

But the real draw is the extensive collection of sketches on display in the expansive main exhibition gallery. Children can curl up in Eeyore’s rickety stick house before perusing Shepherd's preliminary drawings. After appreciating the pencil sketch and pen and ink drawings of ‘Poohsticks’, cross the bridge and play your own game in the digital river.


Exploring the real-life friendship shared by A.A. Milne and E.H. Shepard, Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic traces the creative collaboration that continues to capture the public's imagination.


Almost 90 years since the publication of their first book, their symbiosis is explored through the pair’s sketches, drafts, and correspondence. Milne insisted Shepard base his illustrations on his son’s toys, as their shapes inspired his writing. A sketch of a map of the 100 Akre Wood (based on the real-life Ashdown Forest) highlights the painstaking attention to detail and the depths of their artistic alliance. From Milne’s manuscripts to Shepherd’s sketchbooks, the exhibition shows the ‘interplay between text and image’, highlighting how the pair transformed a toy into a classic character.


Prepare for your inner child to be amazed as you embark on an adventure through the world of Britain’s beloved bear.


Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A

by Hailey Wendling

What Review: Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic, V&A
Where V&A, South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL | MAP
Nearest tube South Kensington (underground)
When 09 Dec 17 – 08 Apr 18, 10:00 AM – 5:45 PM
Price £8
Website Click here for tickets and more information



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 5 - 7 August
Things to do in London this weekend: 5 - 7 August
London's loveliest indoor swimming pools
London swimming pools you can visit without membership
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London (Photograph: Peter Lewicki)
London Theatre Guide: best plays on now in London, 2022

Editor's Picks

This Picasso-themed children's tea at Rosewood is a real work of art. Photo: Patricia Niven
The best afternoon teas for kids in London 2020
Family theatre: London's best shows for all the family
Family theatre: London's best shows for all the family
Best things to do with kids in London 2018
Best kids events in London to book for 2018
Animatronic Permian reptiles at the Horniman. Photo: Gondwana Studios
London immersive experiences for kids
Podcasts for kids. Photo: Insung Yoon
The best podcasts for kids to listen to when stuck indoors
Best things to do with Kids in London: on now
Best things to do with kids in London: July edition
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
7

Kids

Best Museums for Children

Exhibitions for Children

You might like

  • Sinbad from The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, Pavilion Books 1996 (c) Quentin Blake

    John Yeoman and Quentin Blake: 50 Years of Children’s Books, House of Illustration

  • Harry Potter exhibition, British Library review [STAR:5]

    Harry Potter exhibition, British Library review ★★★★★

  • Joe Idris-Roberts as Pinocchio, National Theatre. Photo Credit: Manuel Harlan

    Pinocchio, National Theatre review ★★★★★

  • Dinosaurs in the Wild, Greenwich Peninsula

    Dinosaurs in the Wild, Greenwich Peninsula

  • Paddington 2 film review [STAR:5]

    Paddington 2 film review ★★★★★

  • A World Inside a Book: Gruffalos, Dragons & Other Creatures, Discover Children's Story Centre

    A World Inside a Book: Gruffalos, Dragons & Other Creatures, Discover Children's Story Centre



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×