Exhibitions

Plesiosaurus 200: Celebrating 200 years since Mary Anning’s groundbreaking discovery
A new temporary exhibition for 2024

Opening Date | 25th May 2024
Free with Museum Admission

Our new temporary exhibition, exploring the history of Mary Anning’s discovery of the first complete plesiosaur skeleton, opened in the Geology Gallery on 25th May.

The exhibition is brought right up-to-date with amazing local modern finds including the second ever specimen of a very rare new plesiosaur that was the ancestor of Attenborough’s ‘Sea Rex’. 

 

Imagination and Illustration: the artwork of Clare Elsom

Clare Elsom is a children’s author and illustrator based in Exeter.

Clare has worked extensively in children’s books – she is the creator of the hilarious young fiction series Horace & Harriet, and has illustrated over 80 other children’s books including the popular Flying Fergus series written by Sir Chris Hoy and Joanna Nadin, Furry Friends by Holly Webb, and Superheroes Don’t Get Scared by Kate Thompson. Her most recent book, Excuse Me Are You a T-Rex? allows her to embrace her love of dinosaurs, and a lot of artwork in this exhibition stemmed from that project.

Clare’s work is character driven, colourful and packed with detail. She relies on her quick observation skills and her ability to capture expressions, narrative and humour in her illustrations. Most of her publishing work is created digitally, but she also loves the chance to work traditionally and spends as much time as possible with sketchbook and pencils and pens.

Clare loves working with children and regularly appears at literary festivals. She has been a guest on CBBC and Blue Peter, was a World Book Day competition judge in 2018 and won a Lollies Award for her illustration work in Cats: Understanding Your Whiskered Friend in 2024.

Clare grew up in Oxford, studied a BA in Illustration at Falmouth University and has an MA in Children’s Literature from Roehampton University in London. She is now settled in Devon with her young family, and alongside illustrating and writing she also runs the popular Exeter Life Drawing classes.

‘Imagination and Illustration: the artwork of Clare Elsom’ will be running in our Rotunda Gallery from 3 June – 7 September. A range of prints and cards will also be available to purchase in the Museum shop. For visiting information please see our Plan your Visit page. This exhibition is FREE with admission.