Snowman creator celebrated in Sussex: new exhibition open this April to explore the life and work of Raymond Briggs

Bloomin’ Brilliant: The Life and Work of Raymond Briggs opens on Saturday, April 27, and runs until October 27 at Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft.

The museum described the show as ‘highly personal’, saying it presents 30 items from the late author-illustrators’ estate, alongside more than 100 original artworks.

The museum said it is currently closed as it prepares for this new show, but it said the shop and café is open as usual from Wednesday to Sunday (10.30am to 5pm). Visit www.ditchlingmuseumartcraft.org.uk.

Steph Fuller, director of Ditchling Museum, said: “It has been a privilege to be invited by Raymond Briggs’ estate to visit his home and select objects for this exhibition. Being in his studio among his drawing materials, family photographs and notes to self, it feels as though he might have just stepped out and could return at any moment. I hope we’re able to convey something of that feeling to visitors.”

The museum added that the new exhibition ‘joins up’ with the show touring from Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration – Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective. It will feature work from The Snowman (1978), Father Christmas (1973), Fungus the Bogeyman (1977), When the Wind Blows (1982), and Ethel and Ernest (1998). The never-before-seen artworks include pieces from Father Christmas Goes on Holiday (1975), as well as several portraits and illustrations that have not left his home for decades. A selection of the artist’s private correspondence will also be on display with his hand-lettered typography and page designs.

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The museum has described Raymond Briggs as ‘one of the most exceptional draughtsman and storytellers that this country has produced’, saying that he depicted ‘innovative journeys of both the magical and seemingly mundane’.

A museum spokesperson said: "This exhibition will also offer a deeply personal view of the items and objects that surrounded the author in his Sussex home, which was just a mile down the road in the village of Westmeston. This will include Briggs’ own writing and drawing desk, which he used for over 40 years and where he first originated some of his most famous works.

“The items also give a sense of who Raymond Briggs was and his playful response to his own fame. A framed Private Eye edition from 1993 riffing on his most iconic work, a faux blue plaque outlining his commitment to practical jokes, and a 1997 note from his partner’s granddaughter detailing that ‘Raymond is not a normal person’ – an utterance that would also make it onto Briggs’ own gravestone – are among the intriguing items that will be shared with the public. Images from his work also adorn several household items, with a pair of extravagant cupboard doors featuring life-sized paintings of his parents Ethel and Ernest, who were also the focus of his 1996 graphic novel documenting their lives.”

Raymond Briggs was born in Wimbledon Park in 1934 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade School of Art. He also taught illustration at Brighton College of Art. His awards include the Kurt Maschler Award, The Children’s Book of the Year, Dutch Silver Pen Award and the Kate Greenaway Award. He passed away in 2022.