Nathan Fearn speaks to Anna-Louise Pickering about her mother Pollyanna's legacy as one of the world's most revered wildlife artists and conservationists.
Few, if any, have combined the disciplines of wildlife art and conservation quite like Derbyshire’s Pollyanna Pickering.
Renowned for her steadfast belief in only painting her subjects in their natural habitat, her work has been sold in over 80 countries and, along with her extensive conservation work, resulted in close to 50 awards, including three lifetime achievement awards, whilst she was also awarded an honorary degree from the University of Derby in 2008.
If you regularly visit cafes, shops, pubs, or any public buildings across our county for that matter, chances are you have encountered numerous examples of her work hanging proudly on the walls.
Famous clients were plentiful, including David Bowie, John Hurt and even the late Queen Elizabeth II – where she was commissioned to paint Her Majesty’s favourite racing pigeon (despite initially believing the request to be a hoax!)
‘She had a long career, well over 50 years, and became one of the top artists in her field and recognised as such internationally,’ says Anna-Louise Pickering, daughter of Pollyanna and co-founder and president of the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation.
‘She was always passionate about the wildlife she painted. She would often say she had the best job in the world. Part of that was giving something back. She was so passionate about supporting conservation projects.’
It’s rare to see someone combine two passions so effortlessly and successfully.
On the one hand, Pollyanna was a supremely talented artist in her own right. However, her ability to combine this talent with a genuine love and care for animals and the planet arguably sets her apart.
‘I think that’s why her work was so recognised,’ suggests Anna-Louise.
‘She had the skill but also that drive to take in new experiences and make a difference to the world around her.
‘It was a career with a lot of pressure and deadlines but she wouldn’t have swapped it for anything.’
Pollyanna’s many expeditions were the stuff of legend. It’s fair to say Anna-Louise marvelled at her mother’s drive and determination, even if it did keep her on her toes!
‘I was lucky enough to work alongside her for almost 30 years, primarily on the business side –licencing, working with publishers, that sort of area.
‘But I also organised the expeditions. Sometimes she would stroll into my office and announce she would like to paint Siberian tigers and would then stroll out again. There are only around 300 left in the world and they live in around three million square miles of isolated forests in the Russian far east – I was then tasked with locating them!
‘We were fortunate that her work was commissioned by pretty much every wildlife charity you’ve heard of, so we had pretty good contacts who would help us get where we needed to go.’
Whilst trips to the Amazon and far-flung places fired Pollyanna’s imagination and provided the backdrop for her art, she was just as content working in more familiar surroundings.
‘She would happily paint anything with a beating heart - if it was alive, she wanted to paint it,’ laughs Anna-Louise.
‘She painted our own cats and dogs. I’d see her quietly doodling on bits of paper in an evening and the next thing I would look and she’d done a gorgeous sketch of my dog.
‘She loved painting British wildlife too. We’re lucky enough to live in Derbyshire and she would often say she could find enough inspiration here to paint for her whole career.
And Pollyanna’s love of Derbyshire certainly runs in the family.
‘My mother was born in Yorkshire but was always heading over the border to walk and paint,’ she describes.
‘When she and my late dad – who she met at art college – married, they settled in Derbyshire and by the time I was born they had a little cottage in Bakewell and stayed there from then on. I was born here, in Darley Dale. I have travelled a lot but it’s always good to be home.
And it was here, in the Derbyshire Dales, that the genesis of what would become the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation was born.
‘We actually ran a little wildlife hospital from our home,’ says Anna-Louise.
‘We set it up primarily to care for injured birds of prey, owls, things like that, but we soon had all kinds landing on our doorstep – bats, badgers, you name it, we looked after it.
‘We did this for 15 years and had friends we trusted to move into the house whenever we were away and they had the knowledge to look after the wildlife we were looking after.
‘Unfortunately, when they were no longer able to do it, there wasn’t anyone we felt would know enough about the care of animals who we’d also be happy to have living in the house.
‘It was a difficult decision but work was taking her away more and more, so we decided to scale down and eventually re-housed our permanent residents.
‘However, she didn’t want to stop doing something to support wildlife, so we set up the foundation to raise funds for other wildlife hospitals doing similar work.’
Set up in 2000, the growth of the foundation – and its impact – was almost immediate.
‘The initial idea, which we still deliver on, was to buy hospital equipment for British wildlife rescue but it grew faster than we expected and went global very quickly,’ she explains.
‘Within a year we were building fencing in Aberdare National Park, Kenya, to protect rhinos but that was only the start.’
The work of the Pollyanna Pickering Trust, four years after Pollyanna’s passing, continues to be vital to projects all around the world and, Anna-Louise believes, benefits from her mother’s influence.
‘I’m now running it with my lovely trustees who are really supportive. We very much know the kind of project Pollyanna would have liked to support and the criteria she would look for.
‘We have a small reserve funds for emergencies, such as the wildfires in Pantanal, Brazil, a couple of years ago, where we were able to buy fire-fighting equipment, so we can react in an emergency.
‘Generally, though, we like to plan ahead so, for example, when we’re putting on exhibitions in our gallery, visitors know the project(s) we’re supporting.
‘We’re active in numerous projects continuously. In this line of work, you meet the most incredible people who are doing things to combat climate change and help wildlife, it’s incredibly inspiring.’
Whilst her professional life has dovetailed with that of her mother’s, Anna-Louise is widely recognised and respected for her work in her own right.
A writer, speaker, photographer, business leader and, of course, conservationist, amongst other disciplines, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the National Animal Star Awards in 2019 and has received multiple accolades over the years, both here and abroad.
Patron of numerous organisations including The Wildlife Art Society International, The Born Free Foundation and North Derbyshire Animal Support, she is also Honorary Life President of the Chesterfield Art Society.
‘My whole career was startlingly unplanned,’ she admits with a smile.
‘I have been very lucky. Working alongside Pollyanna I was able to develop my creative side as well – particularly writing books, and that’s always been a big part of what I do.
‘There have been some incredible moments. On our first ever expedition to the high Arctic, temperatures were as low as minus 40. The only way to stop the cameras from freezing was to have them inside my clothing, including in my sleeping bag at night.
‘I remember one day I knocked my mug of tea out my hand and before the liquid hit my leg it was a shard of ice – it was an amazing exhibition but physically, a bit brutal.’
Pollyanna Pickering’s legacy lives on and, through Anna-Louise and the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation, her work continues to make a real difference and provide great inspiration across the globe.
For more on the Pollyanna Pickering Foundation, visit pollyannapickering.co.uk/foundation
