born May 12, 1812, Highgate, near London, Eng.
died Jan. 29, 1888, San Remo, Italy
English painter and comic poet.
From age 15 he earned his living by drawing. Employed to illustrate the earl of Derby's private menagerie in the 1830s, he later produced Book of Nonsense (1846) for the earl's grandchildren. His other works include Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets (1871), containing "The Owl and the Pussy-Cat," and Laughable Lyrics (1877). He is best known for popularizing the limerick . He also published volumes of bird and animal drawings and seven illustrated travel books. Epileptic and depressive, he lived mainly abroad after 1837.
Edward Lear, drawing by William Holman Hunt, 1857; in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
By courtesy of the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool