Edward Lear
About the book
Edward Lear: Egyptian Sketches
by Jenny Gaschke
‘O Nile! O beautifully endlessly endowed Nile!’
Edward Lear (1812–88), well-loved nonsense poet and author of The Owl and the Pussycat, was an intrepid traveller. But he was also an exquisite painter. This delightful collection of his watercolour sketches transports the reader to an Egypt seen through the eyes of a Victorian traveller. Lear’s evocative images reveal the magically changing light along the Nile, where he was entranced by the exotic landscape, the ruins of an ancient civilization and the rich variety of traditional river craft.
Lear’s sketches are now part of the collection at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The book’s introduction reveals the man behind the nonsense as an artist of considerable importance, recording the ebb and flow of life along the Nile at the dawn of the age of modern tourism.
| Format | Hardback, 189 x 246 mm, 64 pages |
| Illustrations | 60 colour and B&W illustrations |
| Publication date | 15 October 2009 |
| ISBN | 978-0-906367-20-6 |
| RRP | £9.99 |
About the author
Jenny Gaschke is Curator of Fine Art at the National Maritime Museum, and is responsible for the Museum’s extensive art collections which consist of paintings, prints and drawings from the 16th century to the present. Jenny is also the Head of the Museum's new Centre for the Study of Art and Travel.
Read Jenny's staff profile and academic profile.
Excerpts
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