Edward Lear | |
|---|---|
 Lear in 1866 | |
| Born | 12 May 1812 Holloway, Middlesex, England |
| Died | 29 January 1888 (aged 75) Sanremo, Liguria, Italy |
| Occupation | Artist, illustrator, writer, poet |
| Citizenship | British, Italian |
| Period | 19th century |
| Genre | Children's literature, literary nonsense and limericks |
| Notable works | The Book of Nonsense, "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat" |
Edward Lear (12 May 1812[1][2] – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limericks, a form he popularised.[3]
His principal areas of work as an artist were threefold: as a draughtsman employed to make illustrations of birds and animals, making coloured drawings during his journeys (which he reworked later, sometimes as plates for his travel books) and as a minor illustrator of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poems.
As an author, he is known principally for his popular nonsense collections of poems, songs, short stories, botanical drawings, recipes and alphabets. He also composed and published twelve musical settings of Tennyson's poetry.
- ^ Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.), and Katharine Baetjer. 2009. British paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1575–1875. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 270. ISBN 1588393488
- ^ Vivian Noakes says Lear's birth certificate gives 13 May as his birthdate but says "there is some doubt about the exact date". Noakes, Vivien. 1986. Edward Lear, 1812–1888. New York: H.N. Abrams. p. 74. ISBN 0810912627
- ^ "Is It Irrational To Be Rational?". IAI TV – Changing how the world thinks. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 20 June 2019.