Helen Craig: A Retrospective Exhibition
15 October – 5 November 2025
Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University, East Road, Cambridge CB1 1PT
Free entry | Open Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm
Acclaimed illustrator Helen Craig, best known for her beloved Angelina Ballerina series, will be celebrated this autumn in a major retrospective at ARU’s Ruskin Gallery. The exhibition brings together seven decades of Craig’s diverse creative output, showcasing illustrations, photography, sculpture, and ceramics — including works never before seen from her personal archive.
While Angelina Ballerina captured the imaginations of children worldwide and inspired a popular TV series, Craig’s career spans far beyond her famous mouse. She illustrated picture books, story collections, and nursery rhymes, crafting intricate, detailed worlds for children to explore.
The exhibition also highlights Craig’s other creative pursuits. As a photographer in 1960s Hampstead, she captured intimate portraits of actors and writers such as Margaret Rutherford, Kenneth Williams, Julie Christie, Zoë Wanamaker, Peter O’Toole, John Mortimer, John Berger, and Eleanor Farjeon. Her sculptures, meanwhile, embody playful theatricality — mythical beings with removable headdresses, interlocking riders and horses, and figures that open to reveal hidden characters within.
Critics and curators alike emphasise the importance of Craig’s breadth and persistence as an artist. As Nicolette Jones of The Times notes:
“Illustration is only one string to Helen’s bow. She has distinguished herself in several fields of art… She is compulsively creative, as all serious artists are.”
Pam Smy, exhibition co-ordinator, adds:
“Helen has been restless in her creativity throughout her life and has continued to be imaginative and inventive. The volume and quality of her output has long been overlooked, and this exhibition is an attempt to shine a light on her remarkable work.”
This free exhibition offers a rare opportunity to celebrate and explore Helen Craig’s extraordinary contribution to the arts.
For more information, contact:
Pam Smy - pam.smy@aru.ac.uk
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