- 1980 edition. 96 pages
- Published by Trefoil Publications Ltd. London.
- Hardcover with dust jacket. Blue Boards. Large book - approx 36cm long x 26cm wide.
- Very good condition. Minor shelfwear, marks to dust jacket. Moderate foxing on end papers.
Introduction by Philip Hofer. 40 colour and 50 black and white illustrations. Indexed.
Edward Lear is known throughout the world as the author of the best limericks and nonsense rhymes in English literature. Yet the earliest years of his career were devoted to quite a different creative enterprise: a series of extraordinary bird paintings of a quality and style to rival the work of even the great John James Audubon.
This new study by art historian Susan Hyman reproduces the best of Lear's plates, each of which embodies the sense of movement, colour and design that led Sir Sacheverell Sitwell to call Lear 'perhaps the best of bird painters.'
Toucans, parrots, eagles, ducks, owls - however exotic or familiar the subject, these magnificent portraits capture not just the characteristics of a species but the character of the individual bird.
Lear's ornithological work was innovative in several important ways. He drew, whenever possible from life - even sketching inside the Regent's Parl Zoo aviary. He also used the relatively new medium of lithography which, by dispensing with the need for professional engravers, allowed him to retain complete artistic control over all stages of his work.
To illustrate his methods, several of his preliminary sketches and colour notes are included. They provide a fascinating insight into the way Lear was able to combine anatomical accuracy and subtlety of detail with the pose and expression of the living, moving bird.
Please Note: Because of the large size of this book $5 has been included in the normal price to help cover the additional packaging and postage cost.
Product is in stock.
