A collection of small, handcrafted animal figurines – a badger, fox, pig, and bear – are mounted on a pale pink wall. Each figure stands on a coloured alphabet block (G, S, H, B).
Plan your visit

Annie Montgomerie: Missies and Nippers

– Upper Space, YSP Centre

About Annie Montgomerie: Missies and Nippers

Following her sell-out show Hand Me Downs in 2022, Annie Montgomerie returns to YSP in 2026 with a new exhibition Missies and Nippers.

Annie Montgomerie’s much-loved, hand-crafted animal figures inhabit a tender emotional space between childhood and adulthood, each showing familiar feelings of vulnerability, innocence, sadness, shyness and loneliness. 

Montgomerie builds her intriguing three-dimensional figures by hand, from fragments of her own memories. Each one resembles the feelings of childhood she remembers so vividly and carries a sense of wanting to belong, wanting to be brave, and finding it so difficult to ‘fit in’.

The show features cats, dogs and foxes, alongside other exotic animals. Montgomerie sculpts the heads and faces with plasticine, layering this with fabric to achieve a stiff outer shell. Their bodies and arms are often constructed with a wire armature or found items, and are dressed in nostalgic, vintage finds from the 1970s and 1980s. Layered retro-patterned fabrics, jewellery, favourite toys and faux furs create a loved-to-death, thread-bare quality. 

Annie’s work has a gentle way of speaking to people. There is a sense of intimacy and secrecy to the characters, their postures and expressions tell stories of their fragile lives, of hopefulness and uncertainty, which can continue into our own adult lives. Her work is about how happiness and sadness always lived side by side, then and now. Making these pieces is a way for Annie to hold both at once; to honour the small, insecure child she was, and to let her speak again through the quiet, handmade worlds she creates.

  • A close-up shot of a vintage, plush cat toy dressed in a miniature pink dress and adorned with a red button and beaded necklace. A small, stuffed mouse rests beside it.
  • A collection of vintage, hand-stitched badger and dog figures stands on colourful alphabet blocks against a pink wall.
  • A gallery display featuring a collection of diverse, handcrafted animal figures. The giraffe stands prominently, surrounded by a monkey and goose, all in various vintage garments.

All works from Annie Montgomerie: Missies and Nippers will be for sale, with proceeds supporting the artist and YSP’s charitable work. Works will be first available to purchase in-person from 10.00 (BST) in-store at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, and then from 12.00 (BST) online at yspshop.org.uk on Saturday 15 August 2026. It is not possible to reserve works ahead of them being on sale. 

There will also be a range of specially developed merchandise, including a limited-edition vinyl figure, available to purchase at YSP Shop, in-store and online, from the same times. 

Finance options through Own Art are available on most purchases at YSP Shop.

A full catalogue of the original works is available to view below.

  • A woman examines two miniature knitted cat figures displayed on a plinth, set against a floral wallpaper.
  • A close-up shot of a stuffed zebra wearing a frilled collar and a patterned dress, with red berries adorning its neck. Several decorative figurines are visible in the background.
  • A rag doll holds a small, plush mouse in a colourful floral dress. The doll has white tights and pink shoes.

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