Pollyanna Pickering

Pollyanna Pickering is recognised as one of Europe's foremost wildlife artists, whose work is much sought after by discerning collectors.

Pollyanna was born in Leeds in 1942, and grew up in Rotherham. She began her art training at Rotherham Art School, where she met her future husband, Ken Pickering, an industrial designer. She went on to study at the London Central School of art. After a brief period of teaching art to A Level, she went freelance in 1969.

She married in 1963, but was sadly widowed at the age of 37 after her husband lost his long battle with cancer. She has not remarried.

Her daughter Anna-Louise was born in 1969 and since 1989 has worked as Pollyanna's business partner.

In 1968 Pollyanna won the prestigious Silver Palette award and in 1988 was honored to be asked back to sit on the judging panel. Since 1998 she has been a member of the Court of the University of Derby, and in the same year she was presented with the freedom of Bolsover and District in recognition of her charitable work.

Exhibitions
Pollyanna has held numerous one man exhibitions in top galleries around Europe and the UK. For many years she was accredited to the Tyron & Moorland Gallery in London and staged a major exhibition" A Charm of Birds" with them in 1981.
She is proud to have staged inaugural exhibitions at the Peter Simmonite Gallery (Sheffield 1981) the Pentameters Gallery (Hampstead, 1987) the new wildlife art gallery at the Derby City Museum and Art Gallery (1998). In 1983 her work was accepted for exhibition by the Royal Academy.Pollyanna has also exhibited with the Halcyon Gallery in Birmingham, Selfridges Art gallery, the Westminster galleries and the Mall galleries in London, (the latter with the society of wildlife artists).
Pollyanna has been invited to exhibit in galleries in France and Holland during 2001.

Her original paintings hang in private and corporate collections around the world from Australia to Siberia,
gracing walls of major companies including British Gas and Hoover.
Public figures who own paintings include Sheik Mohammed, David Bowie, and John Hurt.

Over the past 30 years, Pollyanna has become one of the UK's most published artists. Practically every home in the UK will have enjoyed her work in the form of a Christmas card, print or calendar.
American publishers Browntrout have published three calendars of Pollyanna's work for 2001.

In support of Fable Pollyanna attended the 10th Anniversary Gala Ball in May 2005