Sculpture: S0043

Title

"Winnie the Bear"; Maquette for A A Milne memorial at London Zoo

Technique

Bronze

Dimensions

Height: 16cm
Width: 9cm
Depth: 6.5cm

Other materials

Green marble base 2 x 10 diam.

Inscription/signature

“Lorne / McKean II” (verso on base of rock); “This bronze maquette of the memorial to A. A. Milne at the London Zoo / commemorates the refurbishment and naming of the A. A. Milne room. Sept. 1994” (brass plaque on base)

Provenance

Presented to the Garrick Club by Mr Anthony Butcher

This is a maquette for the memorial to A A Milne at London Zoo. Winnie the Pooh was originally modeled after a real black bear in London zoo. Winnie began life as an orphaned cub bought as a mascot by Colonel Harry Colebourn, veterinarian with the Canadian army, when his regiment was in training for World War I. Colebourn named the bear Winnie after his hometown of Winnipeg. Subsequently his regiment was shipped to England, where in 1914, when called to the front, Winnie was gifted to London Zoo. There she entranced visitors with her antics, and among those visitors were A A Milne and Christopher Robin.
The full story can be found in Mia Sokoloski, "The Romance of the Captain and Winnie the Bear" White River, Ontario, 1992.