Washington: Edward Lear, the artist, illustrator and master of “nonsense” rhyme birthday was marked with Google Doodle Saturday.
Born 200 years ago, Edward published many popular collections of poetry and limericks during his lifetime with The Owl and The Pussycat is his most famous work.
Early Life
Belonged to a middle-class family in the village of Holloway, Lear got homeschooling. He became a patient of asthma and bronchitis, as well as depression and epilepsy in early years of his life.
After domestic rifts, Edward Lear began to earn a living from his mid-teens onwards by colouring screens, fans and prints, and sometimes making disease drawings for doctors and hospitals.
Fine Works
Later he was chosen by Zoological Society in 1830 to make drawings of the parrots to produce fine hand-coloured lithographs.
Inspired by his work for Zoological Society, he was employed by the the Earl of Derby, before going off to travel for three years in Italy.
His two volumes of illustrations include Illustrated Excursions in Italy. He also gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria, who was impressed with the “Excursions”.
Traveling and Work
The famous illustrator later visited Mediterranean, Greece, Egypt, India and Ceylon, producing large quantities of coloured wash drawings.
His book A Book of Nonsense in 1846 on limericks helped popularise the form.
Death
Edward Lear, striving for a right place for him among community of artists, died in January 1888, and later that year a new edition of his work, Nonsense Songs and Stories, was published.
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