Skip to main content
Leicester Special Collections

Success

SCT01610_p27Reduced_CartwrightArchiveUniversityOfLeicesterCopyrightRegCartwright.jpg

Illustration of the pigeon returning home from: Reg Cartwright and Patrick Kinmonth, Mr Potter's Pigeon, (Hutchinson, 1979), p. 27, SCT 01610.  ©Reg Cartwright. 

'At last the rain stopped, and a flicker of grey like a speck of ash appeared in the clearing sky.  A pigeon.  Mr Potter held his breath as it came closer.  For a moment it seemed that it was going to fly on overhead, but then it came circling down towards the garden.

Mr Potter ran outside and his pigeon flew gently into his waiting hands.'*

Reflecting on the success of the book, Cartwright observed that the pairing of 'the lonely old man with the freedom of the bird struck a chord with people'.**

*Mr Potter's Pigeon, (Hutchinson, 1979), p. 28, SCT 01610

**Reg Cartwright talking to Clare Barry from: 'The Simple Touch' in Artists & Illustrators, (July 2009), p. 93, RAC/13

 

RAC4_MotherGooseAwardReduced_CartwrightArchiveUniversityOfLeicester.jpg

The Mother Goose Award, 1980, which was awarded to Reg Cartwright for his illustrations to Mr Potter's Pigeon, for which he was adjudged the best newcomer to British children's book illustration.  The award is photographed with a first edition of the book, published by Hutchinson in 1979.

'Congratulations on winning this year's Mother Goose Award.

The Panel loved the illustrations in Mr Potter's Pigeon and the decision was unanimous.'*

*Letter from Clodagh Alborough to Reg Cartwright, (19 March 1980), RAC/11

SCT01610_p26ReducedCartwrightArchiveUniversityOfLeicesterCopyrightRegCartwright.jpg

'Waiting', from: Reg Cartwright and Patrick Kinmonth, Mr Potter's Pigeon, (Hutchinson, 1979), p. 26, SCT 01610.  ©Reg Cartwright. 

 

'This picture has actually played a role in the life of our teacher, Ajahn Sumedho  … the post card image of your painting [‘Waiting’] was one he used as a contemplation, sticking it on his wall … and he has referred to it in talks many times as a metaphor for the contemplative mind.'*

*Email from Jayanto Bhikku, a Buddhist monk, (November 2010), RAC/11