The Armitt is a unique combination of museum, library and gallery devoted to preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of the Lake District. Mary Louisa Armitt founded the Library to foster an exchange of ideas in the local community. The Library opened in 1912. More than a century later, we continue to support the spirit of enquiry in all that we do. Beatrix Potter was one of the Armitt鈥檚 early supporters, and our collection holds a number of her family鈥檚 books as well as her personal first editions of the 鈥榣ittle鈥� books. Her major gift however came in the form of a large number of exquisite botanical watercolours. At the centre of our exhibition 鈥楤eatrix Potter, Image and Reality鈥�, these works reveal fascinating and lesser-known aspects of her life story. Today, the Armitt is proud to house one of the country鈥檚 most important collections of artwork by Kurt Schwitters, who influenced the development of twentieth-century art and lived in Ambleside during his final years. In early 2016, generous support from the V&A Purchase Fund, the National Art Collections Fund, the Friends of the Armitt, and local donors allowed us to acquire a further five wonderful Schwitters paintings from his Ambleside years. All works are now on permanent display.
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