A joyful new mural by Sir Quentin Blake brings a contemporary burst of movement, humour and imagination to The Sherborne this spring.
Installed in the atrium staircase as part of Of Myths and Murals, The Joy of the Frog is a playful counterpoint to Sir James Thornhill’s dramatic Calydonian Boar Hunt, unveiled during the 300th anniversary year of the completion of Thornhill’s extraordinary mural. Together, the two works create a vivid dialogue across centuries, inspired by storytelling, transformation and spectacle. Where Thornhill’s mural surges with mythic drama and heroic pursuit, Quentin’s offers something lighter on its feet: a joyous frog on a mischievous journey through a world of music, creativity, play and comic theatre.
The journey begins at ground level, where the frog sits beside a speaker with a scroll while opposite, a janitor stands with a large pail on wheels. Just beyond, tucked near the door, a man carries a large package. It is as though we are stepping quietly into the wings of a theatre, moments before a magical performance begins.
As visitors ascend the staircase, Quentin’s imaginative world starts to unfurl and scale becomes gleefully unstable. An opera singer sends three musicians skyward with the force of her voice: a violinist, a triangle player and a trumpeter, from whose instrument the frog suddenly bursts into view. Higher still, we encounter an artist at work, children at play with the frog woven into their games, and a photographer poised to capture the moment. An Elvis-style singer appears, graciously receiving flowers from an adoring fan, while a boy with balloons drifts upwards towards the highest stretch of the stairs. At the very top, the frog reappears one last time, leaping towards an outstretched medal-giver, as though the whole joyful ascent has been building to this gloriously absurd reward.
Playful yet carefully composed, The Joy of the Frog feels perfectly at home at The Sherborne: contemporary yet in conversation with the house’s historic heart. Opening alongside The Baron Gilvan’s The Baron’s Metamorphoses: Myths for a Failing Admiralty, it helps launch a season of vivid contrasts and rich storytelling. Later in the programme, Mat Collishaw’s Last Meal on Death Row will add a further contemporary note. In this tercentenary year, The Joy of the Frog offers a spirited new counterbalance to Thornhill’s great mural, reminding us that walls can hold both grandeur and glee, and that imagination, whether Baroque or Blakean, is always capable of lifting us.
Dates & location
Dates: From 27 April 2026
Location: Atrium Staircase, The Sherborne
Admission
Entry to The Sherborne is free, with donations warmly encouraged.
To help keep our exhibitions free, please donate £10 if you’re able.