The painter, Edward Lear

Although his status as a household name was established through his nonsense poems and limericks, Edward Lear's talents as a painter have recently been increasingly widely recognized. The major exhibition of his work at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1985 in particular did much to enhance his reputation. Lear was a superb ornithological draughtsman - Sir David Attenborough regards him as the finest ever - and indeed early in his career earned his living from his skills in this field. The other area in which his genius shone through was that of his delicate watercolours, made on his worldwide travels and used as the basis for more "finished" watercolours and oils. In this book Vivien Noakes, an authority on Lear, has placed his painting in the context of his unconventional life. She also examines each colour plate and evaluates what Lear was trying to do in the painting and how well he succeeded.