English writer and artist Edward lear He was born on May 12, 1812 in Halloway. One of the last 21 children of a successful stockbroker, his childhood was spent in a comfortable home in Highgate, where, due to his epilepsy and asthma, he was raised by his sisters Anne and Sarah. They prompted him to draw and color. He had no formal training, but his interest and energy made him a skilled draftsman.
When Edward He was 13 years old, his father’s financial disasters hit the family. A small income allowed Anne to provide a home for Edward. From ages 15 to 18, he helped support himself with drawings made for doctors and hospitals. A friend got him a commission from the Zoological Society to draw the birds at the London Zoo. The 42 hand-colored lithographs in his book The Parrot Family have compared favorably to JJ Audubon’s drawings.
While working at the zoo, Lear He was invited by Lord Derby to draw pictures of his collection of wild animals on his Knowsley estate. In the 4 years he spent there, he became the favorite of the grandchildren. For them he created his first Nonsense Book, a collection of 50 limericks illustrated with luscious nonsense drawings. Travel to the north of England at this time sparked a desire to paint romantic landscapes.
He decided to go to Rome, where he hoped to sell his watercolors to English residents. Until 1848, Rome continued to be his center of activity, from where he traveled through Europe, Asia and Africa in search of subjects for his landscapes.
The need to improve his art led to Lear to study at the Royal Academy in London. Two years of the slow and outdated course put him off. He accepted an invitation from Holman Hunt to exchange Italian lessons for help with oil painting. The relationship was fruitful. Hunt became “Daddy Hunt”, an artistic prop for the lonely older man. He made a series of oil landscapes between 1840 and 1853 and exhibited the most ambitious at the Royal Academy from 1850 to 1853. They did not sell at his asking price, so he returned to the smaller watercolors and lithographs for his books of travel.
For the last 14 years of his life, Lear he lived in a house that he had built in San Remo, in Italy. He died there on January 29, 1888.