The Edward Lear Collection at Harvard University

Essays, a Checklist of the Incomparable Collection, and an Exhibition Catalog on the Occasion of the 200th Anniversary of lear's Birth. Harvard Library Bulletin, Summer-Fall 2011. Volume 22: Numbers 2 - 3. Although he is best remembered today as a whimsical nonsense poet, adventurous traveler, and painter of luminous landscapes, Edward Lear is revered in scientific circles as one of the greatest natural history painters of all time. During his brief immersion in the world of science, he created a body of work that continues to inform, delight, and astonish us with its remarkable blend of scientific rigor and artistic finesse. Thanks to the generosity of two discerning Harvard University benefactors, Philip Hofer and William B. Osgood Field, Houghton Library holds the largest and most complete collection of Edward Lear's original paintings in the world. Among the thousands of items in this collection are some two hundred sketches, studies, and finished paintings devoted to natural history. This exhibition, commemorating the bicentennial of Lear's birth, was the first devoted to this important aspect of his career.

This bulletin includes the following articles: The Natural History of Edward Lear, by Robert McCracken Peck (pp 1-68); The Edward Lear Collection at Harvard University, by Hope Mayo (pp 69-124); Exhibition Catalog: The Natural History of Edward Lear (pp 125-159).