Lot 815
Edward Lear (1812-1888)
Lot 815 Details
Edward Lear (1812-1888), British
A VIEW OF CORTE, CORSICA FROM THE ROAD LEADING TO BASTIA, MAY 19TH-21ST, 1868
Pencil, pen and ink with grey and brown washes on paper with partial watermark: Whatman?; signed with monogram “EL” lower left
Sheet 4.8 x 7.7 in — 12.3 x 19.5 cm
Estimate $3,000-$5,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
The Leger Galleries Limited, London, UK;
From whom purchased by the Private Collection, Hamilton, Ontario in 1985
Literature:
Edward Lear, “Journal of a Landscape Painter in Corsica”, London, 1870, p. 173, pl. XXIX
Note:
Edward Lear left for Corsica on 8th April, 1868 in the company of the writer John Addington Symonds. Lear had originally intended to travel to Palestine, but decided to instead visit Corsica with the intention of publishing an illustrated journal. Afterwards Lear explored the island exhaustively, visiting the important town of Corte situated almost in the centre of the island between the 19th and 21st of May.
Edward Lear’s “Journal of a Landscape Painter in Corsica” was the last of Lear’s travel books and was where he adopted the technique of wood engraving to prepare the plates.