A Blog of Bosh

Edward Lear, Dahr el Bayree, Thebes.
Inscribed Thebes. Dahr el Bayree. 19 Feby. 1854. lower right; further inscribed with extensive artist’s notes, inscribed No. 12 single verso. Pen and brown and pencil and watercolour. Unframed: 28.9 by 51.1cm., 11¼ by 20in. Framed: 52.8 by 74cm., 20⅝ by 29⅛in.

Provenance
Spink, London
The Fine Art Society, London, by 1988
Acquired from the above by the late owner

Exhibited
London, The Fine Art Society, A Centenary Exhibition, 1988

Lear visited Thebes in February 1854, spending ten days sketching the temples, ruins and landscape, as part of his journey along the Nile. In the present drawing Lear has his back to the river and looks west towards the Thebian Hills. His inscription Dabr El Bayree, would seem to refer to ‘Dayr al-Baḥrīa’, a nearby 7th century monastery.

Sotheby’s.

Edward Lear, The Pyramids near Cairo.
Inscribed and dated near Cairo. Jany. 9. 1849 lower left; inscribed a mother of Mud. lower centre; numbered 7 lower right. Pen and brown ink and watercolour over traces of pencil. Unframed: 17.1 by 50.7cm., 6¾ by 20in. Framed: 41.5 by 73.2cm., 16¼ by 28¾in.

Provenance
Private collection, USA
Sale: London, Sotheby’s, 29 November 1973, lot 178
Leger Galleries, London, by 1975
Acquired from the above by Martin R. Davies, Bristol, April 1975

Exhibited
Sheffield, Graves Art Gallery, Edward Lear. Watercolours, Oils and Drawings, 1988
London, The Fine Art Society, A Centenary Exhibition, 1988

This drawing was created on the 9 January 1849, three days after Lear’s arrival in Cairo. He had just spent nine months travelling in the eastern Mediterranean and he had long wanted to experience Egypt. In Cairo he met his friend John Cross and together they set out by camel on the route from Cairo to Suez. Lear fell ill in Suez and this curtailed his plans, ultimately forcing him to abandon his travels in the region. He was, however, hugely inspired by the landscapes and people of Egypt and he would return on three further occasions.

Sotheby’s.

Edward Lear, Dhows on the Nile.
Pencil and watercolour Dated ’29 Dec’ (lower left), numbered ‘161’ (lower right), colour notes throughout 6.5 x 22.5cm (2½ x 8¾ in.)

Provenance
The Ruskin Gallery, Stratford-upon-Avon. The gallery label affixed verso dates the work to 1867, however a later inscription to the label notes there had later been a suggestion by Vivien Noakes that the work is earlier and dates to 1853, which would make it one of Lear’s first Nile trip pictures.

Dreweatts.

Edward Lear, Deir Kadige on the River Nile, Egypt.
Inscribed Deir Cadige March 14 sunset Dome orange, 66 x 151mm. Loosely laid down on an old mount, slight sporadic stains, undisturbed in old ebonised frame with, on the reverse, the trade label of H Isaacs Burton on Trent.

The Saleroom.