Paragon Gallery is delighted to announce Literary Lions & Other Beasts, a major new exhibition by acclaimed British artist PJ Crook MBE RWA FRSA, opening with a Private View Evening on Friday 9th October and continuing until Saturday 7th November. The exhibition marks Crook's second solo show with the gallery and coincides with the town's annual Literature Festival, drawing together the worlds of narrative art and literature in a captivating new body of work.
Following the success of her previous exhibition, Byron's Bear & Menagerie, Crook once again draws inspiration from the literary world, and the artist's fascination with the rich intersection of storytelling, imagination and human experience, this time through the enduring relationship between writers and animals. In this engaging new body of work, animals emerge as both companions and characters, occupying a space between historical reality and literary invention.
The exhibition explores the remarkable creatures that have inspired some of history's greatest writers. From Saint Jerome and the faithful lion he is said to have befriended, to Charles Dickens and his beloved raven, Grip, Crook uncovers fascinating stories that reveal the profound influence animals have had on creative lives.
Known for her distinctive figurative style, wit and keen observation of human behaviour, PJ Crook brings these literary beasts vividly to life. Her paintings weave together history, myth, narrative and humour, inviting viewers to rediscover familiar stories through fresh eyes. Whether depicting real animal companions or creatures born entirely from imagination, Crook's works celebrate the powerful role animals play in literature and in our collective cultural memory.
Literary Lions & Other Beasts will be on view at Paragon Gallery throughout October and into November, and offers visitors a rare opportunity to experience a new collection from one of Britain's most celebrated contemporary painters. Rich in narrative, character and curiosity, the exhibition promises an enchanting journey through the worlds of art, literature and the animal kingdom.
A note from the Artist:
“Because I so enjoyed my last exhibition, Byron’s Bear & Menagerie, here at the Paragon Gallery, I wanted to continue in a similar but different vein. So as this exhibition is once again tying up with the Literature Festival, I have opted for Literary Lions & Other Beasts. Sometimes the subject matter of the paintings is the actual animal companion of the writer, whilst others are the animals they are imagining and writing into their story.
Throughout history we find writers such as Saint Jerome sharing his library with the faithful Lion who he rescued by removing a thorn from his paw; through to Dickens who kept a raven called Grip whom he loved; he even taught it to speak in Cockney slang. When it died, he personally learned how to be a taxidermist as he couldn’t bear to be parted. In fact, he had three ravens one after another and they were all called Grip, also a canary, an eagle and cats. What is even more fascinating is another writer, in the USA, was so intrigued with the story that later when the stuffed Grip came up for auction, he purchased it and when you know it was Edgar Allen Poe, who wrote his famous poem The Raven, you realise what a profound effect it had on his writing.
Leo Tolstoy wrote one of the most moving and sorrowful stories about a Piebald horse called Strider, and Shakespeare has the most famous stage direction ever written "Exit, pursued by a Bear…” Then in 19th century fairy tales, Southey wrote a version of Goldilocks and the three bears where the three bears were all male but mine stay with the more traditional Mother, Father & baby bear.
Saint Jerome and the Lion, Tinted Gesso on Wood, 19 x 17” / 48.3 x 43.2cm