The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition
A beautifully illustrated exploration of Edward Lear's little-known career as a natural-history artist—now in a new expanded paperback edition

Edward Lear (1812–1888) is best known today for his witty limericks and endearing nonsense verse. But the celebrated author of "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" also created some of the most stunning paintings of birds and mammals during an age when many species were just being discovered and brought to private menageries and zoos throughout Europe. The Natural History of Edward Lear brings together more than 200 of Lear's strikingly beautiful illustrations of animals, plants, and landscapes. Robert McCracken Peck sheds light on Lear's astounding creativity, productivity, and success as an artist. He discusses Lear's humor, extensive travels, and important place in the history of science, and shows how Lear influenced other artists from Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak to James Prosek and Walton Ford.

With a foreword by David Attenborough, a new chapter discussing Lear's interest in pets, and never-before-published illustrations by Lear, this new edition offers invaluable perspectives on a beloved writer who was also one of the greatest natural-history artists of all time.

1137615445
The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition
A beautifully illustrated exploration of Edward Lear's little-known career as a natural-history artist—now in a new expanded paperback edition

Edward Lear (1812–1888) is best known today for his witty limericks and endearing nonsense verse. But the celebrated author of "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" also created some of the most stunning paintings of birds and mammals during an age when many species were just being discovered and brought to private menageries and zoos throughout Europe. The Natural History of Edward Lear brings together more than 200 of Lear's strikingly beautiful illustrations of animals, plants, and landscapes. Robert McCracken Peck sheds light on Lear's astounding creativity, productivity, and success as an artist. He discusses Lear's humor, extensive travels, and important place in the history of science, and shows how Lear influenced other artists from Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak to James Prosek and Walton Ford.

With a foreword by David Attenborough, a new chapter discussing Lear's interest in pets, and never-before-published illustrations by Lear, this new edition offers invaluable perspectives on a beloved writer who was also one of the greatest natural-history artists of all time.

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The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition

The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition

The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition

The Natural History of Edward Lear, New Edition

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$29.95 
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Overview

A beautifully illustrated exploration of Edward Lear's little-known career as a natural-history artist—now in a new expanded paperback edition

Edward Lear (1812–1888) is best known today for his witty limericks and endearing nonsense verse. But the celebrated author of "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" also created some of the most stunning paintings of birds and mammals during an age when many species were just being discovered and brought to private menageries and zoos throughout Europe. The Natural History of Edward Lear brings together more than 200 of Lear's strikingly beautiful illustrations of animals, plants, and landscapes. Robert McCracken Peck sheds light on Lear's astounding creativity, productivity, and success as an artist. He discusses Lear's humor, extensive travels, and important place in the history of science, and shows how Lear influenced other artists from Beatrix Potter and Maurice Sendak to James Prosek and Walton Ford.

With a foreword by David Attenborough, a new chapter discussing Lear's interest in pets, and never-before-published illustrations by Lear, this new edition offers invaluable perspectives on a beloved writer who was also one of the greatest natural-history artists of all time.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691217239
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 04/13/2021
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Robert McCracken Peck is senior fellow and curator of art and artifacts at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. His many books include Specimens of Hair: The Curious Collection of Peter A. Browne and Headhunters and Hummingbirds: An Expedition into Ecuador. He lives in Philadelphia.

Table of Contents

Foreword David Attenborough vii

Introduction 1

Part I

An Unusual Life - Lear's Childhood and Early Interest in Natural History 10

Opening the Cages - Lear and the London Zoo 20

Edward T. Bennett 27

An Unfinished Publication - Lear's Lost Portfolio 30

The Zoology of Captain Beechey's Voyage 35

Lear and Lithography - Applying Technology to Art 39

Lear's Parrot Monograph 44

Bird Depictions Dead and Alive - Ornithological Illustration before Lear 48

Barraband's Parrots 52

Among the Lions - Lear's Place in the Natural History Community of His Day 59

John Gould 59

Jardine and Selby 68

Thomas Bell 73

A Curious Beast 79

Lear Down Under - An Unusual Interest in Australia 81

The Earl and the Pussycat - Lear's Association with Lord Derby 88

John James Audubon and a Hoped-for Venture to America 95

Gleanings from Knowsley Hall 98

An Artist in Motion - Lear as a Traveler 100

Instructor to the Queen 110

Traveling Farther Afield 113

Exotic Dress 115

The Dangers of Travel 116

Blurring the Lines - Lear's Interest in Pets 119

Spoofing Science from the Sidelines - Lear's Nonsense Botany 135

Lear's Botany - The Serious Side 140

Conclusion (Part I) 143

Part II

Timeless Stories for All Ages-Lear's Impact on Children's Books 146

Beatrix Potter 149

Edward Gorey 153

Jan Brett 154

The Legacy Continues - Two Contemporary Painters of Natural History

Working in the Lear Tradition 156

William Cooper 156

Elizabeth Butterworth 159

Taking Lear in a New Direction 162

Walton Ford 162

James Prosek 165

Poetical Topographers - Three Contemporary Travel and Landscape

Painters Working in the Lear Tradition 168

Tony Foster 169

John Doyle 171

Philip Hughes 173

A Political Cartoonist Influenced by Lear 177

Nicholas Garland 177

Conclusion (Part II) 182

Notes for Pan I 184

Notes for Part II 197

Appendix 200

Acknowledgments 201

List of Illustrations 205

Selected Bibliography 209

Index 211

Colophon 227

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"[Peck] has discovered a great deal that is new and which will fascinate anyone with a love for Lear and for fine natural history illustration."—from the foreword by David Attenborough

"Beautifully produced."—Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"[An] exquisite retrospective of Edward Lear."—Laurence A. Marschall, Natural History

"This beautiful, richly illustrated and carefully researched volume by Robert McCracken Peck is to be warmly welcomed. It is a very useful contribution to the furtherance of our understanding of this extraordinary man."—Adam Kendon, Times Literary Supplement

"A book full of delights, discoveries and surprises. . . . Peck has established Lear's leading place in the history of bird and mammal illustration and art."—Christine Jackson, Archives of Natural History

"One of the delights of Peck's authoritative and sharp-eyed study is that, while it fleshes out Lear's early career in unprecedented detail, it also demonstrates how much natural history Lear carried with him into his later work both as a landscape painter and as a writer of nonsense."—James Williams, The Art Newspaper

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