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COLLECTION Identifier: MS Typ 55.11, MS Typ 55.26, TypDr 805.L513

Edward Lear landscape drawings

Overview

Original drawings of landscapes by English artist Edward Lear.

Dates

  • Creation: 1834-1884

Language of Materials

Collection materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Access is restricted. Consult Curator of Printing and Graphic Arts.

Extent

258 linear feet

Scope and Contents

The Printing and Graphic Arts Department of the Houghton Library possesses a collection of more than 3,500 drawings, by far the largest in the world, that demonstrate just how successful Lear was in this field. The sheer number of drawings in the Houghton collection makes it possible to trace the evolution of his style from the mid-1830s through the 1880s and provides a detailed record of his extensive voyages. The majority of drawings were made during one of his last trips in 1873-1874 and represent scenes from India and Ceylon.

A significant portion of the drawings are relatively small, with several mounted on a single cardboard sheet. Many drawings include Lear's manuscript notes. These record the place and date, and sometimes hour, of execution, as well as information about colors and textures to be added later. Lear's technique is discussed in HOFER.

Additional Description

Biographical / Historical

Edward Lear (1812-1888) is remembered primarily for his nonsense rhymes and limericks, but in his own lifetime he sought recognition as a landscape painter.

Arrangement

Arranged in chronological order of the artist's travels:
  1. ENGLAND before 1837
  2. THE MOSELLE 1837
  3. ITALY 1838-1844
  4. AMALFI 1844
  5. MISCELLANEOUS 1844
  6. ALBAN HILLS 1845
  7. VOLSCIAN MOUNTAINS 1845
  8. SICILY 1847
  9. CALABRIA 1847
  10. CAMPAGNA 1847
  11. GREEK ISLANDS 1848
  12. GREECE 1 1848
  13. TURKEY 1848
  14. ALBANIA 1848
  15. EGYPT 1 1849
  16. GREECE 2 1849
  17. GREECE 3 1849
  18. ENGLAND 2 1851
  19. EGYPT 2 1853-1854
  20. CORFU 1 1856
  21. ISRAEL AND JORDAN 1858
  22. ITALIAN RIVIERA 1860
  23. TUSCANY 1861
  24. CORFU 2 1862
  25. FRENCH RIVIERA 1 1864-1865
  26. MALTA 1865
  27. YUGOSLAVIA 1866
  28. EGYPT 3 1867
  29. RAVENNA 1867
  30. FRENCH RIVIERA 2 1868
  31. CORSICA 1 1868
  32. CORSICA 2 1868
  33. CORSICA 3 1868
  34. CORSICA 4 1868
  35. MISCELLANEOUS 2
  36. LUCKNOW 1873-1874
  37. BARRACKPORE 1873-1874
  38. HIMALAYAS 1873-1874
  39. GWALIOR 1873-1874
  40. DELHI 1873-1874
  41. HARDWAR 1873-1874
  42. SIMLA 1873-1874
  43. MAHABALESHWAR 1873-1874
  44. POONA 1873-1874
  45. HYDERABAD 1873-1874
  46. MAHABALIPURAM 1873-1874
  47. TIRUCHIRAPPALLI (TRICHONOPOLY) 1873-1874
  48. COONOOR 1873-1874
  49. CALICUT 1 1873-1874
  50. CEYLON 1873-1874
  51. CALICUT 2 1873-1874
  52. BOMBAY SCRAPS
  53. LUCKNOW SCRAPS
  54. BARRACKPORE SCRAPS
  55. HIMALAYA SCRAPS
  56. TAJ MAHAL SCRAPS
  57. GWALIOR SCRAPS
  58. DEHLI SCRAPS
  59. DEHRA DUN SCRAPS
  60. HARDWAR SCRAPS
  61. SIMLA SCRAPS
  62. TEOG SCRAPS
  63. MAHABALESHWAR SCRAPS
  64. POONA SCRAPS
  65. HYDERABAD SCRAPS
  66. TRAIN SCRAPS
  67. MAHABALIPURAM SCRAPS
  68. TIRUCHAPPALLI SCRAPS
  69. COONOOR SCRAPS
  70. CALICUT 1 SCRAPS
  71. CEYLON SCRAPS
  72. CALICUT 2 SCRAPS
  73. ITALIAN ALPS 1878-1883

When requesting drawings, please cite the information given under Call number/location.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

MS Typ 55.11 and MS Typ 55.26. Gift of William B. Osgood Field, 1942.

TypDr 805. L513. Bequest of Frances L. Hofer, 1978.

Specific provenance information for most items is recorded with each item below.

Related Materials

Additional landscape drawings located in various scrapbooks, also in the Printing and Graphic Arts Department, have not been included in this catalogue (see "Landscape drawings located in other P&GA collections below). The Departments of Manuscripts and of Printing and Graphic Arts hold extensive collections of diaries, letters, and other drawings by Lear; MS Typ 55-55.25 and MS Eng 797-797.6

Landscape drawings located in other P&GA collections:
  1. Central India, 1875 [v.2 only]. MS Typ 55.5
  2. Illustrations to the poems of Tennyson, 1885. MS Typ 55.7
  3. Drawings of landscapes, animals, and birds, ca. 1849-1855. MS Typ 55.13
  4. View of Cairo, oil, framed. g TypDr 805.L513.73v

Abbreviations Used For Bibliographic References:

  1. ELOMS: Field, William B. Osgood. Edward Lear on my shelves. [New York]: Priv. print., 1933 (Munich : Bremer Presse.)
  2. GOODEN AND FOX: Gooden and Fox, Ltd. Edward Lear, 1812-1888, a loan exhibition of oil paintings, watercolours and drawings, books and prints, nonsense works: 15th October to 1st November, 1968. London: Gooden and Fox, Ltd., 1968.
  3. WAM: Garvey, Eleanor M. Edward Lear, painter, poet, and draughtsman; an exhibition of drawings, watercolors, oils, nonsense and travel books, Worcester Art Museum [April 18-June 2], 1968. Worcester, Mass.: [Worcester Art Museum], 1968.
  4. HOFER: Hofer, Philip. Edward Lear as a landscape draughtsman. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1967.
  5. VIEWS IN ROME AND ITS ENVIRONS: Lear, Edward. Views in Rome and its environs, drawn from nature and on stone by Edward Lear. [London: Published by T.M'Lean, 26, Haymarket, 1841.]
  6. LEAR'S ILLUSTRATED EXCURSIONS IN ITALY: Lear, Edward. Illustrated excursions in Italy. London, T. M'Lean, 1846.
  7. VIEWS IN THE SEVEN IONIAN ISLANDS: Lear, Edward. Views in the seven Ionian islands, drawn from nature & on stone by Edward Lear. London: E. Lear, 1863.
  8. JOURNAL OF A LANDSCAPE PAINTER IN CORSICA: Lear, Edward. Journal of a landscape painter in Corsica. London, R.J. Bush, 1870.
  9. JOURNAL OF A LANDSCAPE PAINTER IN ALBANIA: Lear, Edward. Journals [sic] of a landscape painter in Albania, &c. London, R. Bentley, 1851.
  10. TENNYSON ILLUSTRATIONS: Lear, Edward. Illustrations to the poems of Tennyson. 1885. Houghton: f MS Typ 55.7
  11. MURPHY: Lear, Edward. Indian journal. Watercolours and extracts from the diary of Edward Lear (1873-1875). Edited by Ray Murphy. London, New York, Jarrolds [1953].
  12. NOAKES: Noakes, Vivien. Edward Lear, 1812-1888; with an introduction by Sir Steven Runciman and an essay by Jeremy Maas. London: Royal Academy of Arts, published in association with Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1985.

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Administrative Information

Title
Lear, Edward, 1812-1888. Edward Lear landscape drawings, 1834-1884: Guide.
Author
Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hou01475

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Houghton Library Repository

http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.ois:HOU

Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

Houghton Library’s Reading Room is free and open to all who wish to use the library’s collections.

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